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Amateur players are getting the possibility to earn one million Australian dollars when they compete against elite players - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle before the year's first major

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have announced the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

How the Competition Operates

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the next round

The champion of the event will take home £490,000

By comparison, players who reached the final four of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam staged a redesigned, standalone combined gender tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its debut single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his progress concluded when he directed the sole serving chance permitted failing to clear the net in his quarter-final

Event Information

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to emulate a similar format to the previous version

The elite players will be granted to serve once and the amateurs two times - as is the usual procedure in standard play

While it is uncertain how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

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

Entry Information

Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can participate in 'One Point Slam' events at their community centers

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every geographic division selected to compete in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which amateurs, aspiring competitors, well-known figures and athletic celebrities can enter

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

"No matter your experience, the final champion will claim the prize. Registrations will start imminently at facilities throughout the nation"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site mentioned "celebrities" would be participating