AO Pickleball SLAM 2025: Highlights, Results & Key Takeaways

It was a Pickleball Party at the AO Pickleball SLAM 2025. The tournament brought the party vibes and the best players on Tennis turf to battle it out. The Australian Open hosted the event, with an amazing $100,000 prize pool to showcase Pickleball to tennis fans and the world. Held on the January 24-26, Court 3 at the Open became a Pickleball Paradise.

The Bros attended the AO Pickleball SLAM on Day 3 to check out the games, enjoy the vibe and to try meet Tyson McGuffin. We didn’t know what to expect, but Spoiler Alert, the AO Pickleball SLAM was the Best Pickleball tournament in Australia YET. Let the Bros tell you why it ruled, and why it was so Much FUN! Let’s Kick it in.

menu list Key Takeaways:

  • Pickleball Meets Tennis at the AO: The AO Pickleball SLAM 2025 brought pickleball to the Australian Open with a 3-day event held on tennis turf with a $100,000 prize pool.
  • Elite Players and Epic Matches: Featuring Australia’s top-ranked players and international stars, the SLAM delivered some fantastic matches, intense rallies and good times for all.
  • Pickleball’s Growing Popularity in Australia: The inaugural event was a huge success, combined with over 70,000+ YouTube streams, highlights pickleball’s rapid rise in Australia. Live matches are a must-see for fans and players looking to be inspired and improve their game.

About the AO Pickleball SLAM 2025

The Million Dollar US Pickleball SLAM was the first event to showcase the cross over between tennis and Pickleball. They wheeled out retired legends of the game, like Andre Agassi and John McEnroe to play Pickleball. And they brought their energy (and explosive personalities) to the game and continue to do so today.

Funnily enough, Pickleball and Tennis aren’t enemies as portrayed in the media. The Australian Open boss Craig Tiley is serious about Pickleball. He said that pickleball is not the enemy, “it’s really devices and the couch.” That’s why the Australian Open partnered with Joola to bring Pickleball to the People. And it was a raging success.


The Pickleball SLAM Format

The format of the tournament had a 6 team round-robin with a finals playoff. Each match was time based with traditional scoring, and the final result was determined by matches won followed by points won. In the case of a tie, a mixed doubles first to 5 points shoot out would take place.

The SLAM Teams

The teams, named after Melbourne’s iconic laneways, all had 4 players (two men and two women). And the players were randomly selected from a pool of Australia’s best players from Major League Pickleball (MLP), the National Pickleball League (NPL), along with some International players.

This roster of elite international and domestic players included Australia’s highest-ranked female pickleball player Emilia Schmidt. And we had Armaan Bhatia and Harsh Mehta from India, Cyril Peltier and Caroline Dhenin from France and the Zack Taylor from the USA.

It was an all star cast with a stack of Aussie players and they did NOT disappoint.

The court set up was unreal – and it was beautiful day for the SLAM

The Pickleball SLAM Experience

The AO Pickleball Slam was a fantastic event. The Vibe of the Australian Open is always electric. And although most people were there for the Men’s finals match, casual observers walked in and enjoyed the show and the excitement of a Pickleball game.

In Pickleball, there is no “quiet please” before a point. Court three was a Pickleball Party Island in the middle of a tennis tournament. The Bros loved the DJ pumping tunes throughout the day. Often you could hear the music from miles away. You can’t have a party without music, and the music really added to the atmosphere of the games. The DJ was the Business!

The Court was decked out and looked slick. With two courts running alongside each other, it was an open environment and it really worked. Throughout the day, the crowds just got bigger and bigger. Ranging from 150 people early in the day to 500-600 people during the finals. The crowd really got into the games and really appreciated the epic points that were played.

Also great to note, the Pickleball SLAM YouTube videos over had over 70,000 streams over the three days. This is really impressive and this level of viewership is an amazing number.


The Action on the Court

The Bros love watching the Pros play Pickleball. After our first experience at the Pacific Pro in Melbourne, we were huge fans of seeing the action up close. The action is more frenetic and so much fun to see from courtside.

One of the best matches of the day was between Degraves (White) and Hardware (Blue) Teams. Where Mitchell Hargreaves and Sarah Burr battled Emilia Schmidt and Zach Grabovic. The rallies were insane and the shots were spectacular. This was an all-star match and one worth re-watching on the AO Pickleball Slam YouTube Channel. This was my favorite match of the day.

The Finals were also ABSOLUTELY EPIC. The Guildford (Green) and Hosier (Pink) teams were both playing so well. Guildford was winning by 2 matches and it looked like it was all over. In the final 2 mixed doubles matches, Hosier had to win both games to go to a 5 point shoot out. And that is exactly what happened.

The shootout was the pinnacle of Australian Pickleball. At that point, the stadium was at it’s peak, the crowd were really into it and the score was 4 all. It all came down to the final point to decide the winner.

If you listen to the footage, you will hear the excitement during this moment. The stadium went berserk. The ending was unbelievable and really, it capped off a fantastic day for all.

Check out the Final moments of the Shootout – And listen to the crowd go bananas.

And although the action on court and that 5 point shoot out was already amazing. The Bros had another unbelievable experience at the SLAM.


The Bros Play the Pros

The Ultimate experience of the SLAM was when Tyson McGuffin and Collin Johns arrived for some pickleball fun. These Big Guns from America were having a great time. Especially Tyson, who was energetic and enthusiastic with his fans. He was fantastic to watch on court, with all of his larger than life actions. It was an absolute pleasure to see Tyson and Collin playing.

Then the call went out, anybody could come onto Court three to play the pros. And of course, the Bros could not say no to such an invitation. The Bros were on the court, metres away from Tyson and Collin playing. It was amazing being so close to these guys playing, but it got better.

We all queued up to play against Tyson and Collin.

The Bros were paired with a guy named Neil, who had never played Pickleball before. We gave Neil a few pointers on how to play, and then we were up to take on the big guns. It was an unbelievable moment playing against Tyson and Collin, and there was a moment during a rally where Tyson smacked the ball and it ricocheted against the hand of yours truly.

An Aussie Pickleball Bros in action against Tyson McGuffin and Colin Johns at the AO Pickleball Slam 2025, with the pros winning the point.

That 2 minutes of Pickleball glory was over, and I had to shake the hand of Tyson and Collin, who are legends of the game. They were so nice and gracious to their fans. It was the greatest moment of the SLAM, and really was the cherry on top of an already monumental day.


Takeaways for Pickleball Players

The Pickleball SLAM is such an awesome opportunity for Pickleball fans to see the best players in action. The Pickleball Pros are full time picklers, and they train hard to be the best. And their matches are unbelievable to watch.

And getting so close to Tyson and Collin and playing against those guys was so cool. As an aspiring player, seeing the Pros and these high intensity professional matches is exciting. But it is also inspiring. And seeing this all unfold on the big stage, on the beautiful Pickleball SLAM courts was unbelievable.

Tyson McGuffin playing against Collin Johns during the AO Pickleball Slam 2025, highlighting the competitive spirit and high-level play of pickleball professionals.
Tyson and Collin were amazing to watch from on the court.

What the Bros are saying is that to really appreciate elite Pickleball players, you need to see them play live. Super intense-fast games like ice hockey and Pickleball are best viewed in person. A screen cannot capture the speed, and intensity of the matches. And it doesn’t pick up the technique used by the players.

Any Pickleball player that wants to improve their game, need to see a professional live match. And you will be in awe at the level of play, and you will truly appreciate the skill level of these players. And you should hopefully pick up a few sweet moves for your own game.


Final Wrap-Up: AO Pickleball SLAM 2025

The AO Pickleball SLAM 2025 was an absolute, 10 out of 10 success. It was the best Aussie Pickleball tournament so far, the fans loved it and it is a positive sign of things to come. Tournaments like the SLAM can only help improve the popularity of pickleball in Australia. As a first event, it was a lot of fun and the Bros recommend Pickleball fans head out to any Pickleball tournament to support the sport and the players. And really, just have fun.

The Bros will be there next year for the AO Pickleball SLAM 2026 … with bells on… Heck Yeah!

Pickle On!

The Aussie Pickleball Bros.

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