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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to win A$1m when they face world-class athletes - including leading player Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown prior to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match 10 amateur players against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the tournament grounds

The Unique Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'the decision-making game' to determine who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the subsequent phase

The winner of the event will receive £490,000

Contextually, players who advanced to the final four of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won substantial prize money

Previous Comparable Tournaments

The American Grand Slam hosted a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in August which prompted top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever One Point Slam this year, but the total purse was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

One top competitor was the only top-10 player participating, and his campaign finished when he sent the single service opportunity granted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Event Information

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is projected to follow a akin setup to this year's edition

The elite players will be granted to have a single serve and the non-professionals twice - as is the norm in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the venue will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will be held in a night session instead of midday timing

Entry Information

Any Australians - or international players who have signed up with the governing body - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with a single non-professional from every geographic division chosen to compete in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on the specified date

There will also be a preliminary competition in December which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, well-known figures and sports personalities can compete in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Applications will begin shortly at clubs nationwide"

Competition planners said there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the official website mentioned "famous personalities" would be participating