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Recreational competitors are being offered the possibility to win one million Australian dollars when they face world-class athletes - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle before January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have revealed the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair everyday competitors against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

The Unique Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to decide who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the next round

The winner of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

For comparison, players who reached the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a restructured, independent combined gender tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to compete, with the winners receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its debut quick-fire event this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor participating, and his progress came to an end when he put the sole serving chance granted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Event Details

Officials have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to emulate a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The elite players will be permitted to have a single serve and the non-professionals twice - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will take place in a nighttime schedule instead of early afternoon

Participation Requirements

Local players - or foreign participants who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'quick-match event' events at their community centers

The champions of the community events will then go into a draw, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division chosen to compete in the 'final competition' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a entry tournament in December which amateurs, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can participate in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will go into the midweek 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the final champion will walk away with the award. Registrations will start imminently at venues across the country"

Event organizers mentioned there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site said "famous personalities" would be taking part