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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the possibility to claim A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - including leading player Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown leading up to the Australian Grand Slam

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will match a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the tournament grounds

The Unique Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the following stage

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

For comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won substantial prize money

Previous Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to compete, with the champions receiving $1m

The Australian Open held its debut single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor participating, and his progress concluded when he sent the single service opportunity granted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Event Details

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to mirror a akin setup to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be permitted to serve once and the non-professionals two times - as is the usual procedure in traditional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will be held in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Competitor Details

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have signed up with the national federation - can enter 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the community events will then go into a draw, with a single non-professional from every geographic division chosen to participate in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, famous personalities and sports personalities can participate in

It commences on early January and the successful competitors will advance to the midweek 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will walk away with the reward. Applications will open soon at clubs throughout the nation"

Tournament officials stated there were "additional stars to be announced soon", while the event portal said "well-known figures" would be participating