{"id":8892,"date":"2025-12-05T18:34:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/?p=8892"},"modified":"2025-12-16T12:51:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T03:21:21","slug":"nt-locks-in-the-first-qualifier-for-the-ao-1-point-slam-in-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/news\/2025\/12\/05\/nt-locks-in-the-first-qualifier-for-the-ao-1-point-slam-in-january-2026","title":{"rendered":"NT LOCKS IN THE FIRST QUALIFIER FOR THE AO 1 POINT SLAM IN JANUARY 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit by Duane Preston<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Congratulations to Alice Springs Tennis Association’s representative, Thomas Van Haaren, for winning the championship against Gove Peninsula Tennis Club rep, Levi Mclean. Both players travelled the furthest to get to the Darwin International Tennis Centre for the finals, and we’re so happy they had the opportunity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LINK TO THE NT NEWS ARTICLE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a great finish by Thomas, with a solid serve and an elegant backhand volley to take the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By winning the championship, Thomas not only wins a $5k tennis grant for Alice Springs Tennis Association, but also a once in a lifetime player experience, with his chance to share the court with some of the game’s greatest players and an opportunity to win $1 MILLION or a Kia EV3!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thomas is 22 years old, who grew up in Alice Springs and went to Nebraska for college tennis in 2023. He came back to Alice Springs in 2024, adapting from Synthetic Grass to Hard Court to win point-by-point, his opportunity to play at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the FIRST of eight State\/Territory Champions, Thomas Van Haaren<\/strong> will receive return airfares to Melbourne, two nights\u2019 accommodation, and the ultimate AO Player experience – their chance to compete against ALCARAZ<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSuper grateful for the opportunity and to share the court with the best in the world\u201d – Thomas Van Haaren<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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See the photos and videos from tonight on our Facebook Album HERE<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The NT Championship capped off more than 200 community events held nationwide, where players battled for a coveted spot in the Main Draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 1 Point Slam Driven by Kia is a fast-paced, high-stakes showdown that will see a draw of 48 pro players, amateurs and celebrity wildcards to battle it out for $1 million<\/strong> in prize money in a one-point knockout format on Wednesday 14 January<\/strong> under the lights of Rod Laver Arena<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is already confirmed, with more top names to be announced soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kia is raising the stakes even further, donating a brand-new EV3 to the last amateur standing in the 1 Point Slam main draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe AO 1 Point Slam is tennis at its most exciting \u2013 one point, one shot at glory. It\u2019s fast, unfiltered and open to everyone,\u201d Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis event is the ultimate grassroots-to-Grand Slam experience. It\u2019s exciting to see our eight State Champions being crowned across the country who will have a shot to live out their Grand Slam dream on the biggest stage this January.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve had a ball hosting the 1 Point Slam events and watching the NT tennis community embrace the format. It\u2019s high stakes drama with every decision and so much fun seeing students face-off against coaches, parents against kids, and tonight \u2013 club versus club. Our NT winner gets the experience of a lifetime representing their club and the NT on Rod Laver Arena in January. We are so excited.\u201d – Tania Tandora, Tennis NT CEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How it works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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AO 1 Point Slam Community Events<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

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Local events will take place nationwide until Thursday 18 December 2025.
Winners from each event qualify for their respective State\/Territory Championship.
The eight State\/Territory Champions will progress directly into the AO 1 Point Slam Main Draw at Melbourne Park.
Players can find and enter events at tennis.com.au\/one-point-slam<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AO 1 Point Slam Main Draw<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

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The 48-player draw on Rod Laver Arena includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • 24 professional players<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

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        • 8 State\/Territory Champions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

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            • 8 Qualifiers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

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                • 8 Wildcards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

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                  The winner takes all \u2013 $1 million in prize money, with the winning player\u2019s club or school receiving a $50,000 tennis grant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  AO 1 Point Slam State\/Territory Championships<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

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                  ACT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Canberra Tennis Centre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  3 Riggall Pl<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Lyneham ACT 2602<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Saturday 20 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  SA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Peake Gardens Riverside Tennis Club<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  6\/24 Bice St, Marleston SA 5033<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Vic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Fawkner Park Tennis Centre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  65 Toorak Rd West<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  South Yarra VIC 3141<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Saturday 20 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  NSW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  2025 Kia North Shore Open<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Northern Suburbs Tennis Association<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  18 Talus Street<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Naremburn NSW 2065<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Sunday 21 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Qld<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  University of Queensland Tennis Club<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Blair Dr<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  St Lucia QLD 4067<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Saturday 20 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Tas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Campbell Town Tennis Club<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  57 High St<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Campbell Town TAS 7210<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Saturday 20 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  WA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Next Gen Tennis Centre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  21 Kings Park Rd<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Kings Park WA 6005<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Saturday 20 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  Good Luck Thomas! The NT will be cheering you on the big screen in January!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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                  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Photo Credit by Duane Preston Congratulations to Alice Springs Tennis Association’s representative, Thomas Van Haaren, for winning the championship against Gove Peninsula Tennis Club rep, Levi Mclean. Both players travelled the furthest to get to the Darwin International Tennis Centre for the finals, and we’re so happy they had the opportunity! LINK TO THE NT […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6428,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6428"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}