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Recreational competitors are being offered the chance to earn a seven-figure prize when they take on tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown before the year's first major

Tournament officials of the Australian Open have revealed the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

The Unique Competition Operates

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the subsequent phase

The victor of the event will take home approximately half a million pounds

By comparison, players who reached the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Previous Comparable Tournaments

The American Grand Slam organized a redesigned, independent mixed doubles tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its debut quick-fire event earlier this year, but the total purse was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

The Russian player was the only top-10 player competing, and his campaign came to an end when he directed the single service opportunity granted into the net in his last eight match

Tournament Details

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is anticipated to mirror a similar format to this year's edition

The top competitors will be allowed to have a single serve and the amateurs twice - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is uncertain how the pairings will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will be held in a nighttime schedule instead of early afternoon

Entry Requirements

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have signed up with the national federation - can compete in 'One Point Slam' events at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every geographic division selected to take part in the 'championship round' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in December which amateurs, lower ranked pros, famous personalities and sport stars can participate in

It commences on the starting date and the successful competitors will qualify for Wednesday's 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and 10 professionals

"No matter your experience, the final champion will claim the award. Applications will open soon at clubs nationwide"

Event organizers said there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal said "well-known figures" would be taking part