Overview
- Smith, the New South Wales state champion, defeated defending Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner en route to the title before edging Taiwan’s Joanna Garland in the final.
- Garland’s run featured victories over Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sakkari after she had fallen in main-draw qualifying earlier in the week.
- The 48-player showcase mixed 24 professionals with 24 amateurs and celebrity wildcards, with the top 16 pros receiving first-round byes.
- Stars including Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka took part, with several pros exiting on single faults under the one-serve rule for professionals.
- Jay Chou drew big cheers before a swift first-round exit without a touch, while Smith said he plans to buy a house and his club received A$50,000 in facility funding from Tennis Australia.