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Amateur players are being offered an opportunity to earn A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown leading up to the year's first major

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will match everyday competitors against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

How the Tournament Functions

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the next round

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

For comparison, players who reached the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Previous Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam staged a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its inaugural single-point competition earlier this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it had limited exposure

The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his run finished when he put the sole serving chance allowed into the mesh in his penultimate round

Event Specifics

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

The professionals will be granted to make one service and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in traditional tennis

While it is uncertain how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the venue will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The last matches will be held in a nighttime schedule instead of midday timing

Participation Details

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have registered with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division chosen to take part in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which amateurs, developing professionals, famous personalities and athletic celebrities can compete in

It starts on the starting date and the successful competitors will qualify for the following day's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and top-ranked athletes

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will claim the award. Entries will open soon at facilities across the country"

Event organizers mentioned there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the official website indicated "famous personalities" would be involved