Jay Chou To Play At Australian Open, Says He’ll Donate S$1.3mil Prize Money To Charity If He Wins

It is no secret that Jay Chou is obsessed with tennis. Just check out his Instagram, where the Mandopop King regularly shares about his tennis journey.

But the 46-year-old going pro (sort of) was not on our bingo card list.

Wait, could Jay have actually heard us when we jokingly mentioned many moons ago that playing in an Open was the next step?

In an Instagram post on Tuesday (Jan 12), Jay surprised fans when he announced that he would be “competing” at the Australian Open.

Jay also added that if he wins, he will donate the entire US$1mil (S$1.28mil) prize money to charity.

Before anyone starts picturing Jay lifting a Grand Slam trophy besides the greats, let’s clarify. He is participating in the tennis tournament's special exhibition event called ‘1 Point Slam’, a fast-paced, winner-takes-all format where a single point decides the match.

Yes, one point only.

Designed to inject fun into the tournament, ‘1 Point Slam’ is meant to attract younger audiences to the sport.

Of course, Jay is fully aware of this and wasted no time managing expectations, saying the match could be over under a minute.

He even thinks that he might get knocked out before even touching the ball, adding that his game plan is to serve first.

“At least I will get to hit the ball once,” he joked in an IG Story.

However, Jay also advised overseas fans not to splurge on airfare just for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it match.

“So, there’s no need to fly all the way here,” he wrote, though he encouraged fans in Australia to turn up and cheer him on.

Fans were excited at their idol doing what he obviously loved, many cheering him on in the comments.

One even appealed to his competitors: “It’s for a good cause. Please let Jay win.”

Photos jaychou/IG, australianopen/IG