🔗 Share this article

Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the chance to win A$1m when they compete against world-class athletes - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before the Australian Grand Slam

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

This Innovative Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'the decision-making game' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the next round

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

By comparison, players who reached the final four of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Similar Events

The American Grand Slam hosted a restructured, standalone combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever One Point Slam this year, but the cash prize was a smaller amount and it had limited exposure

One top competitor was the only top-10 player involved, and his campaign came to an end when he sent the sole serving chance permitted into the mesh in his last eight match

Tournament Specifics

Officials have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a similar format to the previous version

The professionals will be allowed to serve once and the non-professionals twice - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is uncertain how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The last matches will be held in a night session instead of early afternoon

Competitor Details

Local players - or international players who have registered with the national federation - can participate in 'One Point Slam' events at their community centers

The winners of the community events will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every region and area picked to participate in the 'championship round' in a night session on the specified date

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

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will advance to the midweek 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and 10 professionals

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the final champion will claim the reward. Entries will start imminently at clubs across the country"

Competition planners mentioned there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the event portal mentioned "well-known figures" would be involved