🔗 Share this article

Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to claim one million Australian dollars when they take on tennis' top professionals - including leading player Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle prior to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

The Unique Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will progress to the next round

The winner of the event will earn £490,000

Contextually, players who advanced to the final four of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Past Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam hosted a restructured, standalone combined gender tournament in the eighth month which prompted top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its debut One Point Slam 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 campaign finished when he put the sole serving chance granted failing to clear the net in his quarter-final

Competition Information

Officials have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is projected to emulate a akin setup to the most recent iteration

The top competitors will be allowed to make one service and the everyday players twice - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the venue will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will be held in a evening slot instead of midday timing

Participation Information

Domestic competitors - or overseas competitors who have signed up with the governing body - can enter 'One Point Slam' events at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a draw, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division picked to take part in the 'final competition' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a entry tournament in late year which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, well-known figures and sports personalities can enter

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Regardless of your skill level, the final champion will claim the reward. Applications will begin shortly at venues throughout the nation"

Competition planners mentioned there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal indicated "celebrities" would be involved