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Recreational competitors are being offered the possibility to win A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle leading up to the Australian Grand Slam

Tournament officials of the Australian Open have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

How the Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'the decision-making game' to determine who serves or receives, and whoever wins the point will advance to the following stage

The victor of the event will receive £490,000

By comparison, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Previous Comparable Tournaments

The US Open hosted a redesigned, standalone mixed doubles tournament in August which prompted top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its debut One Point Slam earlier this year, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention

The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his campaign finished when he sent the single service opportunity permitted failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Event Information

Officials have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is anticipated to emulate a comparable structure to the previous version

The elite players will be granted to serve once and the everyday players twice - as is the usual procedure in standard play

While it is unclear how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the venue will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will take place in a night session instead of 1pm local time

Participation Details

Any Australians - or international players who have registered with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'One Point Slam' competitions at their community centers

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every state and territory selected to take part in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on the specified date

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which amateurs, developing professionals, well-known figures and athletic celebrities can participate in

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will qualify for the midweek 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the final champion will walk away with the award. Applications will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Event organizers said there were "additional stars to be revealed shortly", while the official website indicated "celebrities" would be involved