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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the possibility to win a seven-figure prize when they face tennis' top professionals - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point prior to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the Australian Open have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

How the Event Will Work

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will progress to the following stage

The champion of the event will take home approximately half a million pounds

For comparison, players who reached the final four of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Previous Comparable Tournaments

The US Open hosted a redesigned, standalone mixed doubles tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to compete, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever One Point Slam this year, but the prize fund was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his progress came to an end when he put the one and only serve allowed failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Event Details

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is anticipated to mirror a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be allowed to make one service and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the norm in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the bracket 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 occur in a night session instead of midday timing

Entry Details

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have registered with the governing body - can compete in 'One Point Slam' events at their neighborhood facilities

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division selected to participate in the 'final competition' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in late year which amateurs, developing professionals, well-known figures and sports personalities can enter

It starts on early January and the pair of champions will advance to Wednesday's 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will claim the award. Registrations will open soon at clubs across the country"

Event organizers stated there were "additional stars to be announced soon", while the event portal indicated "celebrities" would be participating