Tennis: Australian Open, the 1^st Grand Slam in the metaverse creates NFTs linked to live match data

The Australian Open, which will be the first Grand Slam tournament to enter the metaverse via the virtual reality platform Decentraland, will also release 6,776 "AO Art Ball NFTs" (tennis balls) "linked to live match data," according to the organisers of the tournament on 11/01/2022.

"Each AO Art Ball's metadata will be linked to a 19cm x 19cm plot of each tennis court surface. If the winning shot from any of the 400+ AO matches lands on that plot, the NFT metadata will be updated in real-time to highlight the match information. Additionally, the NFT's with have utility such as limited-edition wearables, AO merchandise, and other benefits in the future. Combining real-time court data with NFTs has never been attempted before. This first-of-its-kind NFT is made possible by official match and ball-tracking data from AO matches," explained the Australian Open Tennis Championships.

"In a major metaverse move, the AO will launch the first truly decentralised tennis experience in Decentraland, a 3D virtual reality platform, allowing any tennis fan access to explore the AO, wherever they…