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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have an opportunity to claim A$1m when they compete against world-class athletes - including top-ranked the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle before the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the Melbourne major have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pit everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

The Unique Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the following stage

The victor of the event will take home a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who made it to the final four of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Similar Events

The New York major organized a restructured, standalone combined gender tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its inaugural One Point Slam in the current season, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it had limited exposure

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his run came to an end when he sent the sole serving chance allowed into the mesh in his penultimate round

Tournament Information

Officials have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is anticipated to follow a comparable structure to this year's edition

The top competitors will be permitted to have a single serve and the everyday players two times - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will be held in a nighttime schedule instead of midday timing

Competitor Requirements

Local players - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can compete in 'quick-match event' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every geographic division picked to take part in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a entry tournament in December which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, celebrities and sports personalities can enter

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Applications will start imminently at venues across the country"

Event organizers mentioned there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site indicated "famous personalities" would be participating