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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to earn a seven-figure prize when they compete against world-class athletes - featuring top-ranked the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown leading up to the year's first major

Organizers of the Melbourne major have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a elimination competition at Melbourne Park

The Unique Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who serves or receives, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the next round

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

Contextually, players who reached the final four of the primary tournaments in the last edition won A$1.1m

Previous Similar Events

The American Grand Slam organized a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in August which prompted top singles players to participate, with the victors receiving $1m

The year's first major held its inaugural single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his progress concluded when he put the sole serving chance permitted failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Tournament Specifics

Planners have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is expected to follow a similar format to this year's edition

The elite players will be permitted to make one service and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the primary court rather than the alternative court

The final stages will take place in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Competitor Details

Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have registered with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'quick-match event' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division chosen to take part in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which amateurs, aspiring competitors, famous personalities and athletic celebrities can compete in

It commences on the starting date and the pair of champions will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the ultimate winner will claim the award. Applications will begin shortly at clubs across the country"

Event organizers said there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal said "famous personalities" would be involved