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Amateur players are getting the chance to win one million Australian dollars when they take on tennis' top professionals - including leading player Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown before January's Australian Open

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will match 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

How the Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to determine who gets to serve or return, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the following stage

The victor of the event will earn a significant cash prize

Contextually, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won A$1.1m

Past Related Competitions

The New York major hosted a restructured, independent mixed doubles tournament in August which motivated top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its debut single-point competition in the current season, but the prize fund was A$60,000 and it had limited exposure

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor involved, and his run finished when he sent the sole serving chance granted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Tournament Details

Planners have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a comparable structure to this year's edition

The elite players will be allowed to make one service and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the standard practice in traditional tennis

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

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

Entry Information

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The winners of the community events will then go into a random pairing, with a single non-professional from every region and area selected to take part in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a entry tournament in December which non-professionals, developing professionals, celebrities and sport stars can compete in

It begins on early January and the two winners will qualify for the following day's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and 10 professionals

"No matter your experience, the final champion will walk away with the reward. Entries will open soon at facilities throughout the nation"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "further celebrities to be announced soon", while the official website said "well-known figures" would be taking part