🔗 Share this article

Recreational competitors are getting the chance to claim a seven-figure prize when they compete against elite players - headed by top-ranked the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to the year's first major

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

The Unique Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will advance to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will earn £490,000

By comparison, players who reached the final four of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Previous Comparable Tournaments

The New York major hosted a redesigned, separate combined gender tournament in the eighth month which prompted top singles players to participate, with the champions receiving $1m

The year's first major held its debut quick-fire event this year, but the prize fund was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the sole elite competitor involved, and his campaign concluded when he directed the one and only serve granted into the mesh in his last eight match

Competition Details

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is anticipated to follow a akin setup to the most recent iteration

The top competitors will be granted to make one service and the everyday players two times - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The last matches will occur in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Entry Requirements

Local players - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'One Point Slam' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a draw, with a single non-professional from every geographic division selected to take part in the 'grand finale' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which non-professionals, developing professionals, famous personalities and athletic celebrities can compete in

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and 10 professionals

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

Competition planners stated there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site said "celebrities" would be participating