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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have an opportunity to earn a seven-figure prize when they face world-class athletes - featuring leading player Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point prior to the year's first major

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pit 10 amateur players against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

The Unique Tournament Functions

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will advance to the next round

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

By comparison, players who reached the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Previous Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a restructured, standalone combined gender tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its debut single-point competition earlier this year, but the prize fund was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player participating, and his progress finished when he put the single service opportunity permitted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Event Information

Officials have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is projected to follow a akin setup to the previous version

The top competitors will be granted to serve once and the amateurs two times - as is the norm in traditional tennis

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages 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

Entry Requirements

Domestic competitors - or overseas competitors who have signed up with Tennis Australia - can enter 'quick-match event' events at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the local competitions will then go into a draw, with an everyday competitor from every region and area picked to compete in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which non-professionals, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can enter

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will advance to the midweek 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the ultimate winner will claim the award. Entries will begin shortly at clubs nationwide"

Tournament officials said there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal indicated "celebrities" would be participating