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Recreational competitors are getting the possibility to earn one million Australian dollars when they take on elite players - featuring top-ranked the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown before the Australian Grand Slam

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

How the Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to establish who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

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

For comparison, players who advanced to the final four of the main draw competitions in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Related Competitions

The New York major organized a revamped, separate mixed doubles tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to compete, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its first-ever single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his campaign finished when he put the sole serving chance granted failing to clear the net in his penultimate round

Event Information

Officials have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is expected to mirror a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the alternative court

The last matches will take place in a evening slot instead of midday timing

Entry Requirements

Any Australians - or international players who have signed up with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every state and territory picked to compete in the 'grand finale' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which everyday players, lower ranked pros, famous personalities and sports personalities can participate in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will go into Wednesday's 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and 10 professionals

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will receive the prize. Registrations will start imminently at venues nationwide"

Event organizers stated there were "further celebrities to be announced soon", while the official website mentioned "celebrities" would be involved