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Amateur players are being offered an opportunity to earn one million Australian dollars when they take on elite players - including world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown before January's Australian Open

Event planners of the Melbourne major have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will match a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

How the Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to establish who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will progress to the following stage

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

For comparison, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Similar Events

The New York major staged a revamped, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Australian Open held its debut single-point competition this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his campaign concluded when he directed the one and only serve allowed failing to clear the net in his penultimate round

Tournament Specifics

Planners have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to mirror a akin setup to this year's edition

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the amateurs two times - as is the usual procedure in standard play

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the smaller Kia Arena

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

Participation Details

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'single-point competition' events at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the community events will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every state and territory selected to participate in the 'championship round' in a evening match on the specified date

There will also be a entry tournament in December which everyday players, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can participate in

It starts on early January and the successful competitors will go into the following day's 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and elite competitors

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will walk away with the award. Applications will start imminently at venues across the country"

Tournament officials stated there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the official website indicated "well-known figures" would be involved