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Amateur players are getting the chance to win A$1m when they compete against world-class athletes - including world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle leading up to the year's first major

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

The Unique Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'the decision-making game' to determine who serves or receives, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the next round

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

By comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Earlier Related Competitions

The US Open staged a redesigned, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its debut single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

Andrey Rublev was the sole elite competitor competing, and his progress finished when he sent the single service opportunity permitted into the net in his quarter-final

Tournament Information

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will function, but it is anticipated to follow a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The top competitors will be granted to make one service and the amateurs two times - as is the norm in conventional tennis

While it is uncertain how the bracket will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will take place in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Participation Information

Domestic competitors - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their community centers

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every region and area selected to take part in the 'final competition' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which amateurs, lower ranked pros, well-known figures and sport stars can enter

It begins on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the final champion will walk away with the award. Registrations will start imminently at clubs throughout the nation"

Event organizers stated there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the official website indicated "famous personalities" would be taking part