Carlos Alcaraz will headline a bold new initiative at the 2026 Australian Open, where 22 professional tennis players will face off against 10 amateurs in a single-point exhibition match for a $1 million prize. The event, called the “Million Dollar 1 Point Slam,” is scheduled for January 14 and will be part of the tournament’s expanded Opening Week festivities.
Tennis Australia confirmed that the format is still being finalized, but the concept is designed to blend elite competition with fan engagement. The 10 amateur participants will be selected through a qualifying process, while the full list of professional players joining Alcaraz is yet to be announced.
Opening Week evolves into a festival experience
Running from January 12 to 17, Opening Week offers discounted access to the grounds, with adult tickets priced at $10 and children’s tickets at $5. Fans will enjoy qualifying matches, community events, and nightly live music. The initiative mirrors the U.S. Open’s Fan Week and has become central to Tennis Australia’s strategy of transforming the tournament into a broader entertainment experience.
“We have a positioning with the team that 50% of the event has to be different from the previous year,” said Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley to SBJ. “That’s different from an experiential point of view, from a fan’s perspective, different from a player point of view, and then different from a broadcast point of view.”
In 2025, the Australian Open attracted 1.2 million fans, a sharp rise from the 400,000 attendees a decade earlier.
Entertainment, food, and family-friendly features
Over the course of the three-week tournament, more than 80 musical acts and 40 restaurants will be featured on-site. In 2026, this will include Shake Shack’s first activation in Australia. A new shaded viewing area called the “Highline” will connect to the Courtside Bar overlooking Court 6, while the popular AO Ballpark will return with its waterslide, stage, and tennis clinics for children.
“Ten years ago we made the strategic decision that we were going to move the event from just being a tennis event to a sport and entertainment event,”
Tiley explained. “We immediately built the vertical of music, the vertical of food, and the vertical of young kids and family.”Infrastructure and future plans
Tennis Australia has invested $1 billion in facility upgrades over the past decade, but further developments are under consideration. Rod Laver Arena seats 15,000, with additional stadiums ranging from 10,000 to 3,000 seats. Most other courts are temporary structures, and demand continues to outpace capacity.
“It’s not enough for us. Those seats are gone very quickly, there’s a high demand for them,” Tiley said. “We are in the process of thinking about the future, and that precinct will be further redeveloped.”
Plans include building a hotel, new structures around the outer courts, and potentially another stadium to accommodate growing interest.
Global reach and strategic partnerships
Tennis Australia will continue to prioritize marketing in the United States, leveraging partnerships with ESPN and major tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati. Corporate sponsors such as New Balance, Marriott Bonvoy, Chubb, and MasterCard are part of a growing network that now includes over 80 partners.
The 2026 Australian Open aims to blend elite sport with immersive entertainment, and the inclusion of Carlos Alcaraz in the Opening Week’s headline event signals a dynamic start to the tournament’s next chapter.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2025
Ranked no.1, Carlos played his last match on the 30th of September when he beat world no.4 Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 in the final in Tokyo to win his 25th career title.
Presently, during this year Alcaraz has a compiled 67-7 match record. The Spaniard conquered 8 titles in 2025 in Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, Rome, French Open, London, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Tokyo. Alcaraz was the finalist in Barcelona and Wimbledon.
He is also scheduled to play in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). The main draw will start on the 27th of October.