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Amateur players are being offered the chance to win A$1m when they take on elite players - including world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown leading up to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have revealed the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will match everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

This Innovative Event Will Work

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to establish who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will progress to the next round

The champion of the event will take home approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who made it to the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in the eighth month which motivated top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever One Point Slam earlier this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the only top-10 player participating, and his campaign came to an end when he directed the one and only serve granted into the mesh in his last eight match

Tournament Specifics

Planners have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a akin setup to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be allowed to have a single serve and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will occur in a night session instead of midday timing

Participation Information

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can enter 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their community centers

The winners of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory picked to participate in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which amateurs, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can compete in

It begins on early January and the pair of champions will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the final champion will receive the reward. Registrations will start imminently at venues throughout the nation"

Competition planners stated there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site said "well-known figures" would be taking part