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Amateur players are being offered the possibility to claim a seven-figure prize when they take on world-class athletes - featuring world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown before the year's first major

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

How the Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will progress to the following stage

The champion of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who reached the final four of the main draw competitions in the last edition won substantial prize money

Previous Similar Events

The New York major staged a revamped, independent combined gender tournament in August which motivated top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize

The Australian Open held its first-ever single-point competition this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it had limited exposure

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his campaign came to an end when he sent the sole serving chance granted failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Competition Information

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is projected to mirror a comparable structure to this year's edition

The elite players will be permitted to have a single serve and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the standard practice in traditional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the primary court rather than the alternative court

The last matches will take place in a nighttime schedule instead of midday timing

Entry Details

Local players - or international players who have signed up with the governing body - can enter 'single-point competition' events at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every region and area selected to take part in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a qualifying draw in late year which everyday players, developing professionals, famous personalities and sport stars can enter

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and top-ranked athletes

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will walk away with the award. Registrations will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Event organizers stated there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal mentioned "well-known figures" would be involved