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Recreational competitors are being offered the chance to win a seven-figure prize when they compete against world-class athletes - featuring leading player the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle prior to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Australian Open have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pit 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

This Innovative Event Will Work

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will advance to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will receive a significant cash prize

Contextually, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Similar Events

The US Open staged a restructured, standalone mixed doubles tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its inaugural single-point competition this year, but the cash prize was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player competing, and his campaign finished when he put the one and only serve permitted into the net in his last eight match

Tournament Specifics

Officials have not detailed exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to mirror a akin setup to the previous version

The professionals will be granted to make one service and the non-professionals two times - as is the norm in standard play

While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The final stages will take place in a night session instead of midday timing

Entry Information

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have registered with the national federation - can enter 'single-point competition' events at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the community events will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every geographic division picked to participate in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which amateurs, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sport stars can participate in

It starts on early January and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Regardless of your skill level, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Entries will begin shortly at facilities throughout the nation"

Event organizers said there were "additional stars to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site said "famous personalities" would be involved