Australian Open organizers have partnered with Decentraland, Run It Wild, and Metakey to offer tennis fans the chance to purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that automatically update with metadata collected from the first Grand Slam of the season.
The partners would create 6,776 ‘art balls’ based on an algorithmic combination of different colors, textures, and patterns.
Additional 22 ‘AO Legend’ and 169 ‘Artist Series’ balls will feature unique designs made by legacy and NFT artists.
Upon minting, each NFT is randomly assigned a 19cm by 19cm plot of the tennis court surface.
Every time a winning shot lands in that plot at the 2022 Australian Open, the NFT will be updated in real-time with match and ball tracking data.
There are ‘fungible’ rewards too.
Should any of the 11 championship points get to land on a particular plot, the NFT owner will get a fungible reward in the form of the tennis ball used in a display case and a certificate of authenticity.
Art ball owners will also have the opportunity to gain limited edition wearables, merchandise, and other benefits in the future. All parties involved have said they plan to offset the carbon emissions generated in creating the NFTs.
