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Recreational competitors will have the chance to earn A$1m when they compete against tennis' top professionals - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before January's Australian Open

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will match a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

The Unique Competition Operates

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

The winner of the event will earn £490,000

By comparison, players who made it to the final four of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won A$1.1m

Past Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam staged a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its first-ever single-point competition this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it had limited exposure

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor involved, and his campaign finished when he directed the single service opportunity granted failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Competition Information

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

The elite players will be allowed to make one service and the everyday players twice - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The last matches will be held in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Entry Information

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with Tennis Australia - can enter 'single-point competition' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory selected to compete in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, well-known figures and athletic celebrities can enter

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will receive the prize. Applications will open soon at facilities throughout the nation"

Competition planners stated there were "additional stars to be announced soon", while the event portal mentioned "well-known figures" would be taking part