Recreational competitors are getting an opportunity to earn a seven-figure prize when they take on world-class athletes - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown leading up to January's Australian Open
Tournament officials of the Australian Open have revealed the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue
The Unique Event Will Work
Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the following stage
The champion of the event will earn £490,000
By comparison, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars
Past Comparable Tournaments
The American Grand Slam hosted a revamped, separate combined gender tournament in the eighth month which motivated top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving $1m
The year's first major held its debut quick-fire event earlier this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it had limited exposure
One top competitor was the sole elite competitor participating, and his campaign finished when he sent the one and only serve permitted failing to clear the net in his quarter-final
Tournament Details
Officials have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is anticipated to emulate a similar format to the most recent iteration
The professionals will be permitted to make one service and the non-professionals twice - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis
While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue
The final stages will occur in a night session instead of 1pm local time
Participation Information
Local players - or international players who have enrolled with the national federation - can enter 'single-point competition' events at their local tennis clubs
The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division picked to participate in the 'championship round' in a evening match on Wednesday, 14 January
There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which amateurs, developing professionals, celebrities and sport stars can compete in
It starts on early January and the successful competitors will qualify for the following day's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and 10 professionals
"No matter your experience, the overall victor will walk away with the prize. Applications will start imminently at clubs throughout the nation"
Event organizers stated there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the official website said "celebrities" would be participating
