The Australian Open and US Open tennis championships have announced a collaboration between AO Adventure and Champions of the Court, the two Grand Slam’s respective experiences on Roblox, a global immersive platform for communication and connection.

AO Adventure is an immersive digital experience that enables users to explore the world of the Australian Open, while completing challenges and earning prizes. Since launching in January this year, ‘AO Adventure’ has clocked up more than 12m sessions, and continues to average around 17,000 visits a day.
 
In the lead up to this year’s main draw in New York, the US Open launched its own immersive experience on Roblox, called Champions of the Court. The experience gives fans the chance to play matches and embark on treasure hunts with avatars of rising star, Coco Gauff, and legend, Billie Jean King, as well as earn tokens to purchase in-experience items such as tennis racquets and balls.

The Cross Court Challenge which connects AO Adventure and Champions of the Court encourages users to pick up a racquet and travel between the distinctive digital worlds of the two Grand Slam tournaments. To complete the challenge and earn the chance to claim a wearable aura, users must defeat Coco Gauff in three matches and win three doubles matches alongside another real user.

“We’re incredibly excited about this collaboration with the US Open, which is another first for the Grand Slams and supports our shared objective to meaningfully shape the future of tennis and embrace innovation, while also upholding the sport’s rich history,” said Ridley Plummer, Tennis Australia’s Senior Manager, Metaverse, NFT’s, Web3 and Cryptocurrency.

“AO Adventure has already demonstrated how an engaging and accessible experience can introduce tennis to a new generation of fans, and keep the Australian Open and its partners relevant year-round. Over half of the visits to AO Adventure have taken place since the Australian Open finished, extending its lifespan well beyond the traditional length of a few weeks in January.”

This month, AO Adventure will also launch a new mini-game called Tennis Ball Rain. This will see users engage in a race against the clock and each other, competing to collect tennis balls that rain from the sky. When users’ hands are full, they will race to deposit the balls in their designated bucket, with the user who has collected the most balls crowned the winner. Users will need to move quickly with other players able to steal balls during the game. The more users play and win at Tennis Ball Rain, the more badges they will earn.