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

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

This Innovative Event Will Work

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

The champion of the event will take home a significant cash prize

For comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the main draw competitions in the last edition won A$1.1m

Earlier Similar Events

The American Grand Slam hosted a redesigned, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to compete, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its debut single-point competition this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the only top-10 player involved, and his run finished when he directed the sole serving chance allowed failing to clear the net in his penultimate round

Competition Information

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is expected to follow a akin setup to the previous version

The professionals will be granted to have a single serve and the non-professionals twice - as is the norm in standard play

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will be held in a night session instead of 1pm local time

Participation Requirements

Local players - or international players who have signed up with Tennis Australia - can enter 'quick-match event' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory chosen to compete in the 'final competition' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a entry tournament in December which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sports personalities can enter

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will go into Wednesday's 'grand finale' with the other eight amateurs and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will walk away with the award. Applications will start imminently at venues nationwide"

Tournament officials stated there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal indicated "famous personalities" would be involved