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Amateur players are getting the possibility to win A$1m when they face world-class athletes - including world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point prior to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a elimination competition at the Australian Open venue

How the Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will advance to the following stage

The winner of the event will earn a significant cash prize

Contextually, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Past Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a restructured, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to participate, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever quick-fire event this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

The Russian player was the only top-10 player participating, and his run came to an end when he put the single service opportunity permitted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Competition Specifics

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to follow a comparable structure to this year's edition

The top competitors will be permitted to serve once and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in traditional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The last matches will be held in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Competitor Details

Domestic competitors - or international players who have enrolled with the national federation - can participate in 'quick-match event' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every region and area chosen to compete in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which everyday players, lower ranked pros, well-known figures and sport stars can compete in

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will advance to the midweek 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and top-ranked athletes

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will receive the reward. Applications will start imminently at venues across the country"

Event organizers said there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the official website indicated "celebrities" would be participating