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Amateur players will have the chance to win A$1m when they take on tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown leading up to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

How the Competition Operates

Participants must play 'the decision-making game' to establish who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will advance to the next round

The winner of the event will earn £490,000

Contextually, players who reached the semi-finals of the main draw competitions in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Previous Comparable Tournaments

The US Open hosted a redesigned, standalone combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural quick-fire event this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his campaign finished when he put the one and only serve allowed into the net in his last eight match

Competition Details

Officials have not said exactly how the event will work, but it is projected to follow a comparable structure to the previous version

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the non-professionals two times - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will take place in a evening slot instead of early afternoon

Competitor Requirements

Any Australians - or international players who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the community events will then go into a draw, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division selected to compete in the 'final competition' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a qualifying draw in the final month which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, celebrities and sport stars can participate in

It begins on early January and the successful competitors will advance to Wednesday's 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will claim the reward. Applications will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Event organizers said there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal indicated "celebrities" would be involved