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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the chance to win A$1m when they face world-class athletes - featuring leading player the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle prior to the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match everyday competitors against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

How the Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to decide who gets to serve or return, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the following stage

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

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

Earlier Similar Events

The US Open hosted a redesigned, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving $1m

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 generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his progress came to an end when he sent the single service opportunity allowed failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Competition Specifics

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to emulate a similar format to the previous version

The professionals will be permitted to serve once and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the norm in standard play

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the smaller Kia Arena

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

Participation Details

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with the governing body - can participate in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The winners of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory picked to compete in the 'final competition' in a evening match on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a qualifying draw in the final month which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sports personalities can compete in

It starts on early January and the pair of champions will advance to Wednesday's 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Registrations will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the event portal indicated "celebrities" would be taking part