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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have an opportunity to win A$1m when they take on world-class athletes - including leading player the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown leading up to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the Australian Open have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair 10 amateur players against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

The Unique Tournament Functions

Participants must play 'the classic hand game' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the following stage

The winner of the event will take home a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who made it to the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Similar Events

The US Open organized a redesigned, separate mixed doubles tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving $1m

The Australian Open held its first-ever One Point Slam in the current season, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the only top-10 player competing, and his campaign finished when he sent the sole serving chance granted into the net in his last eight match

Event Details

Planners have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is anticipated to mirror a similar format to the most recent iteration

The top competitors will be allowed to serve once and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in standard play

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds 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 midday timing

Entry Details

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have registered with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'One Point Slam' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every region and area chosen to participate in the 'championship round' in a night session on mid-January

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

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will advance to the following day's 'grand finale' with the remaining non-professionals and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the final champion will receive the reward. Registrations will start imminently at clubs nationwide"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site indicated "celebrities" would be participating