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Recreational competitors are getting an opportunity to win one million Australian dollars when they compete against world-class athletes - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle leading up to the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the Australian Open have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit everyday competitors against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

How the Event Will Work

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the following stage

The victor of the event will earn approximately half a million pounds

For comparison, players who made it to the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Past Similar Events

The American Grand Slam hosted a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted 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$60,000 and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player involved, and his campaign concluded when he directed the one and only serve permitted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Competition Information

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to follow a similar format to the most recent iteration

The top competitors will be permitted to have a single serve and the everyday players twice - as is the norm in traditional tennis

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

The last matches will take place in a evening slot instead of midday timing

Entry Information

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'single-point competition' events at their neighborhood facilities

The winners of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every region and area picked to participate in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, famous personalities and sports personalities can compete in

It starts on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will receive the prize. Applications will open soon at venues nationwide"

Event organizers said there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the event portal said "celebrities" would be involved