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Recreational competitors are getting the chance to win a seven-figure prize when they face elite players - including world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the Melbourne major have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit everyday competitors against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

This Innovative Event Will Work

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

The winner of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who made it to the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the 2025 Australian Open won over a million Australian dollars

Previous Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam organized a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the champions receiving one million US dollars

The Australian Open held its debut quick-fire event earlier this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor involved, and his progress finished when he sent the sole serving chance granted into the mesh in his quarter-final

Tournament Details

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is projected to emulate a comparable structure to the previous version

The top competitors will be allowed to make one service and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the alternative court

The concluding rounds will occur in a night session instead of 1pm local time

Competitor Details

Any Australians - or international players who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'quick-match event' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every geographic division chosen to take part in the 'grand finale' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sports personalities can participate in

It commences on the starting date and the successful competitors will advance to Wednesday's 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will walk away with the prize. Registrations will begin shortly at facilities across the country"

Event organizers stated there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site mentioned "well-known figures" would be involved