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Amateur players are being offered the chance to earn A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle before the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the tournament grounds

The Unique Competition Operates

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who gets to serve or return, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

The winner of the event will earn £490,000

By comparison, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Comparable Tournaments

The New York major organized a redesigned, independent mixed doubles tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its debut single-point competition in the current season, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his run concluded when he put the sole serving chance allowed into the net in his quarter-final

Competition Details

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to follow a comparable structure to this year's edition

The top competitors will be granted to make one service and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the standard practice in traditional tennis

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will take place in a nighttime schedule instead of early afternoon

Entry Details

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'One Point Slam' events at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the community events will then go into a draw, with one amateur player from every state and territory selected to participate in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on the specified date

There will also be a entry tournament in December which everyday players, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can enter

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will walk away with the prize. Applications will open soon at venues across the country"

Competition planners mentioned there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site indicated "famous personalities" would be participating