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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting an opportunity to claim a seven-figure prize when they compete against tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will match 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

How the Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the following stage

The winner of the event will take home £490,000

Contextually, players who advanced to the final four of the primary tournaments in the last edition won A$1.1m

Previous Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam hosted a restructured, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural One Point Slam earlier this year, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his run came to an end when he put the one and only serve permitted failing to clear the net in his quarter-final

Event Details

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to mirror a similar format to this year's edition

The professionals will be allowed to serve once and the non-professionals twice - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is uncertain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will occur in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Competitor Information

Local players - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with the national federation - can enter 'One Point Slam' events at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a draw, with a single non-professional from every region and area picked to compete in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which non-professionals, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can compete in

It starts on early January and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the final champion will claim the reward. Entries will start imminently at venues across the country"

Event organizers stated there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal mentioned "celebrities" would be participating