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Amateur players will have an opportunity to earn a seven-figure prize when they face world-class athletes - featuring world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown prior to January's Australian Open

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 knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

The Unique Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to determine who takes the serve or return position, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the next round

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

Contextually, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Past Similar Events

The New York major staged a redesigned, standalone mixed doubles tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural single-point competition earlier this year, but the prize fund was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the sole elite competitor competing, and his campaign concluded when he put the sole serving chance allowed failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Competition Information

Officials have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a akin setup to the previous version

The top competitors will be granted to make one service and the amateurs twice - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The final stages will be held in a evening slot instead of early afternoon

Competitor Requirements

Local players - or foreign participants who have registered with the national federation - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their community centers

The winners of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every state and territory picked to compete in the 'grand finale' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which amateurs, lower ranked pros, celebrities and sports personalities can compete in

It begins on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into Wednesday's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the final champion will receive the award. Entries will begin shortly at facilities nationwide"

Competition planners said there were "further celebrities to be announced soon", while the tournament site said "well-known figures" would be involved