Hometown hero McCartney Kessler established One Point Slam in Calhoun, Ga.
McCartney Kessler with One Point Slam champiion (left) Johann Schick and finalist Anu Kallambella. Photos: Doug Walker
If you were looking for another way to describe one of the latest innovations in tennis, Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” might come to mind.
The One Point Slam, which made its debut at the 2025 Australian Open, found its way to North Georgia last Sunday, where the Calhoun (Ga.) Tennis Center hosted the McCartney Kessler Hometown One Point Slam.
Kessler calls Calhoun and the Northwest Georgia area a special place where she learned the game. Kessler is ranked No. 110 on the WTA Tour after reaching No. 30 before a back injury early this year took her off the tour for an extended period.
Kessler, who plans to rejoin the WTA Tour next year, though she would not specify an event, said she hopes that the event can continue in the future. Kessler made $5,000 donations to the tennis programs at all three of the high schools in Gordon County - Calhoun, Gordon Central and Sonoraville – for a total of $15,000.
Ultimate sudden death
In the ultimate sudden death event, 78 players signed up to battle it out in the tennis world’s ultimate win-one-point-or-go-home event, with a $2,500 prize to the survivor.
Johann Schick, a student at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where Kessler’s brother McClain Kessler is an assistant coach, was the winner in a duel with fellow Baylor School player Anu Kallambella.
The tournament drew players from middle schools, high schools and colleges, along with local high school coaches, all looking for a little miracle glory. After all, it was an amateur Jordan Smith who beat the likes of Amanda Anisimova and Jannik Sinner on the way to winning $660,000 in the 2026 Australian Open One Point Slam.
While the prize money in Calhoun was not in the same neighborhood as the Australian payout, Schick said he had no idea he would win the event in Calhoun.
“I mean there was some hope. There were some great players here,” Schick said. Indeed, Calhoun native and Baylor School women's head coach Carly Briggs was among the contenders, along with Juan Carlos Aguilar, who played at Texas A&M and TCU.
Schick said that winning Kessler’s event was special, in part, because McClain is part of the group that coaches the Baylor School team when he isn’t on the pro circuit with his sister. “I’m still shaking after the final,” Schick said.
Kessler talks about giving back to Calhoun
“Being able to give back a little to the community that helped we get to where I am today was really important to me,” Kessler said.
She advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2026 Australian Open One Point event, beating Adolfo Vallejo, a Paraguayan pro on the ATP Tour; Italian pro star Jasmine Paolini, and Alec Reverente, an Australian tennis coach, before falling to Croatian Donna Vekic, another WTA veteran.
Spectators watch Tristan Laboeuf compete at the McCartney Kessler One Point Slam,
Baylor School women's head coach Carly Briggs plays a point.
Kessler said the One Point concept is really fast-paced and exciting. “There is no feeling like it. It is like the craziest nerves and emotions that I have never experienced in my life.”
Briggs, who teamed with Kessler at Florida, said that unlike the normal game, “you make one mistake here and you’re out.”
“I thought it might be something fun to re-create and kind of bring the community together,” Kessler explained.
The Calhoun tournament came together in a matter of weeks. Edward Jones, the president of the Sequoyah Tennis Association, based in Calhoun, called it a whirlwind thing.
Months ago, as Kessler’s season was coming to a close, Jones said her mother, Julie, reached out to the association and relayed that McCartney wanted to donate to the community where she grew up. “She partnered with us as a community tennis association here to find a way to put this together,” Jones said.
Veteran USTA official Sharon Meadows, who runs the Calhoun Center, explained that the community is so proud of McCartney who has won professional tournaments in Hobart, Tasmania, Nottingham and Cleveland. The center received USTA Outstanding Facility Award - Public Courts: Large Tennis Centers in 2023.
“We had a lot of people here (for the event) and the money she has given the three high schools hopefully will hopefully build tennis here even more,” Meadows said.
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