{"id":408382,"date":"2026-01-15T08:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/408382\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T08:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:25:08","slug":"smiling-assassin-jordan-smith-basks-in-spotlight-after-hitting-1m-tennis-jackpot-australian-open-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/408382\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Smiling assassin\u2019 Jordan Smith basks in spotlight after hitting $1m tennis jackpot | Australian Open 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pending tax advice, tennis coach Jordan Smith is Australia\u2019s newest millionaire, thrust into the global spotlight after beating top professionals in the One Point Slam<\/a> on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s improbable run to the $1m prize made him a magnet on Thursday morning at Melbourne Park, amid more than a dozen local and international interviews, selfies, promotions and autographs.<\/p>\n

At 10.30am, having slept for less than three hours and with no food in his stomach, Smith was just trying to do his best with all the attention. \u201cNo one\u2019s really experienced this before, right?\u201d he said. \u201cSo waking up, yeah, I didn\u2019t really know what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was standing just outside Rod Laver Arena, the scene where 13 hours earlier he had lived the ultimate amateur sporting dream. AFL icon Bailey Smith was his first scalp, after a solid serve forced an error on the Geelong footballer\u2019s return. Next was Laura Pigossi, the world No 86 who he ousted in a tight rally.<\/p>\n

Round three brought Jannik Sinner, the two-time defending Australian Open<\/a> champion, who froze against Smith and faulted. The Australian put his hands on his head in disbelief, running towards the net with his now-trademark grin. The tale was only to get taller.<\/p>\n

Australian amateur tennis player, Jordan Smith, celebrates a victory during the One Point Slam exhibition event at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Photograph: David Gray\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old regularly works 50 hours a week at his parents\u2019 tennis academy in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill, and once chased a future on the professional tour. He is now best known around the courts of Sydney\u2019s Hills District as the \u201csmiling assassin\u201d, a name given to Smith by Mr O\u2019Hara, his year seven teacher at Oak Hill College in Castle Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always do smile, no matter really what,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThat\u2019s what a lot of people I play in matches, they say it\u2019s so annoying because I\u2019m just smiling the whole time. But no, I do enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A strong serve wide took care of Amanda Anisimova, a finalist at both Wimbledon and the US Open last year, in the quarters of the winner-takes-all event. But he still had to beat two more professionals, Pedro Martinez and Joanna Garland, to secure the grand prize.<\/p>\n

Amateur tennis player Jordan Smith speaks with media after winning the $1m Australian Open One Point Slam. Photograph: Kelly Defina\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

His girlfriend, cyber and IP lawyer Jessica Brand, was watching the incredible evening unfold in the stands alongside Smith\u2019s parents and friends. The pair have been dating only a year, but have known each other much longer.<\/p>\n

Brand has been coached by Smith\u2019s father since she was eight, and both families are regulars in the local tennis community since then.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all jumped up, we were all shaking, all of our stuff was on the floor, we were just \u2026,\u201d she said, momentarily losing her words. \u201cIt was unbelievable, so I think we all just wanted to see Jordan afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair had been hoping to go to Japan this year, as well as New Zealand to see Brand\u2019s family. Europe in 2027 was also on the bucket list. \u201cThey\u2019re getting more likely now,\u201d Smith said, smiling as ever.<\/p>\n

The hours since his triumph have been a blur of TV cameras and autographs. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of just a \u2018J Smith\u2019, I need to probably fix that up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Smith is yet to see the money, and is not sure whether it will be subject to tax. A million-dollar income attracts a bill to the ATO of more than $400,000. \u201cI\u2019m not sure if it is going in tax or not, or if it\u2019s prize, but I\u2019ll sort that out a bit later, if anyone wants to help me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There has been a fixation within the press on his desire to use the winnings to buy property in Sydney, where the median price of a house is close to $2m. \u201cIt\u2019ll help obviously a lot, but in Sydney at the moment, it\u2019s very difficult, that\u2019s why I\u2019m still at home.\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to help me for sure but I haven\u2019t really thought too much about the money, just enjoying the experience, and just to be able to play centre court on Rod Laver Arena, play all the other professionals and celebrities and amateurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith admitted he may not remember much of the past 24 hours, but some memories will linger. Jockey Damien Oliver, who he describes as \u201cso down to earth\u201d, took photos of the tennis coach alongside Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who was excited for the Australian when he won the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even asked Alcaraz for some advice against Jannik, and he\u2019s like, \u2018just pray\u2019,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Smith recognises he represents a tennis fairytale, but also that this moment in the spotlight will be fleeting. He wants to be remembered in simple terms. \u201cFor me, just a guy from Sydney, Castle Hill, with a big smile,\u201d he said. \u201cJust a guy that loves tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pending tax advice, tennis coach Jordan Smith is Australia\u2019s newest millionaire, thrust into the global spotlight after beating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-408382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}