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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the chance to win one million Australian dollars when they face tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair everyday competitors against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

How the Competition Operates

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the following stage

The winner of the event will earn a significant cash prize

Contextually, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won A$1.1m

Earlier Comparable Tournaments

The American Grand Slam organized a revamped, separate combined gender tournament in August which motivated top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Australian Open held its inaugural One Point Slam this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his run came to an end when he put the single service opportunity allowed failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Tournament Specifics

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to emulate a akin setup to the previous version

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the everyday players twice - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will take place in a nighttime schedule instead of midday timing

Entry Requirements

Domestic competitors - or international players who have signed up with the governing body - can enter 'single-point competition' events at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a draw, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory selected to participate in the 'final competition' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, well-known figures and athletic celebrities can participate in

It starts on early January and the two winners will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the final champion will claim the award. Registrations will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Event organizers stated there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site mentioned "well-known figures" would be taking part