MELBOURNE: Will Smith made his Grand Slam debut on Friday night, taking a seat at Rod Laver Arena for the electric third-round Australian Open match between local hope Nick Kyrgios and 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The actor briefly met Tsonga before the players walked onto the court.
“Really a great guy. Really sweet. Love his energy,” Smith told former player Jim Courier in an interview aired on the Seven Network. “He has this little bow on his wrist, it looks like a power thing. I don’t know a lot about tennis but watching him I was like man, I think I might have to take this up a little bit. I’m happy being here watching these guys play.”
Smith has spent 10 days in Australia, taking a break before starting work on a movie.
“This is the first time at the Open — this is my first Slam,” said Smith, who planned to watch top-ranked Rafael Nadal on nearby Margaret Court Arena but decided to stick around on the main show court.
Kyrgios prevailed in a big-serving battle of wills against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, downing the Frenchman in four sets to progress to the round of 16 at the Australian Open.
In his scheduled post-match interview, Kyrgios was asked by Courier about the presence of Smith in the crowd.
“Honestly when I saw him out here I was so nervous,” Kyrgios said. “No joke. I was thinking ‘oh my god.’ People think that I’m cool but I wanted him to think I was the coolest man ever. I’ve got to tell him. I have Focus on my phone and I watch it every time I have a flight. Best movie ever ... it’s because of Margot Robbie by the way.”
Smith is the second Hollywood personality at the Australian Open this week. Will Ferrell appeared in the crowd over the first few days, doing an on-court interview with Roger Federer.
Nick Kyrgios ‘so nervous’ by presence of Will Smith at Australian Open
Nick Kyrgios ‘so nervous’ by presence of Will Smith at Australian Open
Australia’s Green becomes IPL’s most expensive overseas player
- Kolkata Knight Riders sign Cameron Green for $2.77 million at player auction for 2026 season
- Aussie cricketer is set to play in the third Ashes test against England starting on Wednesday
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player in the Indian Premier League (IPL), after Kolkata Knight Riders signed him for 252 million Indian rupees ($2.77 million) at the player auction for the 2026 season in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Green, who was initially registered as a batsman due to an error, was the subject of intense bidding between Kolkata and Chennai Super Kings before being purchased by the three-times champions.
The 26-year-old is the third most expensive player in IPL history, after India’s Rishabh Pant (270 million Indian rupees) and Shreyas Iyer (267.5 million). “We are very happy. This is something that we were really focused on... I think he adds a lot to our team,” Kolkata CEO Venky Mysore said.
Australian Mitchell Starc, the previous most expensive foreign player in the competition, attracted a bid of 247.5 million Indian rupees in 2024 from Kolkata, who have made three of the five most expensive buys in IPL history.
Green, who missed the IPL this year as he was recovering from back surgery, is set to play in the third Ashes test against England starting on Wednesday.
Kolkata also spent big on Sri Lankan seamer Matheesha Pathirana and Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman.
Five-time champions Chennai splurged 142 million Indian rupees each on wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma, who has hit 16 sixes in this season’s Ranji Trophy, and all-rounder Prashant Veer, making them the most expensive uncapped signings in IPL history.
Delhi Capitals bought England batter Ben Duckett and South Africa’s David Miller for 20 million Indian rupees each.
The 19th edition of the IPL begins on March 26, after India co-hosts the Twenty20 World Cup starting in February.
