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Recreational competitors are getting the possibility to claim A$1m when they take on elite players - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have revealed the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

The Unique Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the following stage

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

Contextually, players who made it to the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the last edition won substantial prize money

Previous Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a revamped, separate combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its debut One Point Slam this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player participating, and his run came to an end when he directed the one and only serve permitted failing to clear the net in his penultimate round

Event Details

Planners have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is anticipated to follow a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be permitted to make one service and the everyday players two times - as is the norm in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will occur in a night session instead of early afternoon

Competitor Details

Local players - or overseas competitors who have registered with the national federation - can enter 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their community centers

The victors of the community events will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory picked to compete in the 'grand finale' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a qualifying draw in late year which amateurs, lower ranked pros, well-known figures and sports personalities can participate in

It commences on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the ultimate winner will claim the award. Registrations will begin shortly at facilities nationwide"

Event organizers mentioned there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the official website said "celebrities" would be taking part