🔗 Share this article

Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the possibility to win a seven-figure prize when they take on world-class athletes - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point prior to January's Australian Open

Organizers of the Australian Open have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit everyday competitors against elite athletes in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

This Innovative Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to determine who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will progress to the following stage

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

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

Previous Related Competitions

The New York major hosted a redesigned, standalone mixed doubles tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its debut single-point competition earlier this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the sole elite competitor involved, and his progress concluded when he put the one and only serve granted into the net in his last eight match

Event Information

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is projected to follow a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be granted to have a single serve and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the usual procedure 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 alternative court

The concluding rounds will take place in a night session instead of midday timing

Entry Information

Local players - or foreign participants who have signed up with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'quick-match event' tournaments at their community centers

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division picked to participate in the 'grand finale' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a qualifying draw in the final month which non-professionals, developing professionals, famous personalities and sport stars can participate in

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will claim the prize. Registrations will begin shortly at clubs nationwide"

Event organizers stated there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the event portal said "celebrities" would be involved