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Recreational competitors are getting an opportunity to earn one million Australian dollars when they compete against elite players - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown leading up to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have announced the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

How the Competition Operates

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will progress to the subsequent phase

The winner of the event will take home £490,000

Contextually, players who reached the final four of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam hosted a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in August which motivated top singles players to participate, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Australian Open held its inaugural One Point Slam in the current season, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his campaign finished when he put the single service opportunity granted into the net in his quarter-final

Tournament Details

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is projected to follow a akin setup to the previous version

The professionals will be allowed to serve once and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

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

Participation Requirements

Local players - or foreign participants who have registered with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'single-point competition' events at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every state and territory chosen to participate in the 'final competition' in a evening match on the specified date

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which everyday players, lower ranked pros, famous personalities and sport stars can enter

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will qualify for Wednesday's 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the final champion will walk away with the reward. Registrations will start imminently at facilities across the country"

Event organizers stated there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the event portal indicated "well-known figures" would be participating