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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to claim one million Australian dollars when they face elite players - featuring world number one the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown before the year's first major

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

This Innovative Event Will Work

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to determine who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will progress to the next round

The winner of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who reached the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Similar Events

The New York major hosted a restructured, independent combined gender 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 first-ever single-point competition in the current season, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the only top-10 player participating, and his progress came to an end when he sent the one and only serve allowed failing to clear the net in his penultimate round

Event Details

Planners have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to follow a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be allowed to serve once and the everyday players twice - as is the usual procedure in traditional tennis

While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

The last matches will be held in a evening slot instead of midday timing

Entry Details

Local players - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can participate in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every state and territory chosen to participate in the 'final competition' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in December which amateurs, lower ranked pros, well-known figures and sports personalities can enter

It commences on the starting date and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'grand finale' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will receive the reward. Applications will start imminently at clubs nationwide"

Tournament officials stated there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the official website mentioned "famous personalities" would be taking part