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Recreational competitors will have an opportunity to claim A$1m when they face elite players - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown before January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Australian Open have revealed the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

The Unique Tournament Functions

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

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

For comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the last edition won substantial prize money

Earlier Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam staged a revamped, independent mixed doubles tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to compete, with the champions receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its debut single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player competing, and his run came to an end when he put the single service opportunity granted into the net in his quarter-final

Competition Specifics

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is anticipated to emulate a comparable structure to this year's edition

The professionals will be granted to make one service and the everyday players two times - as is the norm in traditional tennis

While it is uncertain how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the venue will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

The concluding rounds will occur in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Participation Information

Local players - or foreign participants who have registered with the governing body - can enter 'One Point Slam' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The victors 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 'grand finale' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which everyday players, aspiring competitors, famous personalities and sports personalities can compete in

It commences on the starting date and the two winners will go into the midweek 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will walk away with the prize. Entries will open soon at venues across the country"

Tournament officials said there were "additional stars to be revealed shortly", while the event portal indicated "famous personalities" would be participating