AO Pickleball Slam Returns to Australian Open – Pickleball News Asia

The AO Pickleball Slam, hosted by the Australian Open, begs to differ. The Australian Open, of course, is one of tennis’s four prestigious Grand Slams, and the AO Pickleball Slam it hosted last year proved to be a smashing success.

This year, the iconic Grand Slam held in Australia every January will be running it back with the second staging of the AO Pickleball Slam, which is scheduled to take place from 30 January to 1 February 2026 at the iconic Melbourne Park on ANZ Arena.

In this year’s AO Pickleball Slam, pickleball superstars from across Asia, Australia, and North America will be facing off in a team format where they will dispute not only bragging rights and pickleball hardware, but also a share of the USD $100,000 prize pool.

The AO Pickleball Slam is an exclusive invitational event where 12 male and 12 female players are handpicked to participate. The players will be invited based on their current ratings, national or international rankings, and recent competitive results across recognised pickleball tours, leagues, or championships. They will then be divided into six teams with two male and two female players each, with the allocation of players overseen by the AO Pickleball Slam officiating team.

The six teams will be announced on 15 January 2026 and will be named as such as an homage to Melbourne’s iconic laneways:

The AO Pickleball Slam kicks off with a round-robin. The two teams with the best records after this stage will then compete in a final playoff on day three, consisting of these eight matches:

In case of a 4–4 tie, it will be decided via the AO Pickleball Slam Showdown—a timed round of singles with match-ups rotating every five points. Each match is time-based and follows a rally-scoring system. The winner when time lapses is the player or team that has scored the most points.

Additionally, players in the AO Pickleball Slam will get an opportunity to play on Show Court 3 (ANZ Arena), right beside Rod Laver Arena, on finals weekend. Here, they will receive on-site hospitality and exclusive gym and locker-room access to one of the Australian Open’s premier venues.

For Ground Pass holders, entry to the arena is free. There are also live-streaming opportunities available for those who want to watch the action from afar.