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Recreational competitors are being offered the possibility to earn A$1m when they compete against world-class athletes - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point prior to the Australian Grand Slam

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

The Unique Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to determine who serves or receives, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the next round

The victor of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who reached the semi-finals of the main draw competitions in the last edition won A$1.1m

Past Similar Events

The New York major hosted a revamped, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving $1m

The Australian Open held its first-ever One Point Slam earlier this year, but the prize fund was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor involved, and his progress came to an end when he directed the sole serving chance permitted into the net in his quarter-final

Competition Specifics

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is anticipated to follow a akin setup to the previous version

The top competitors will be allowed to make one service and the non-professionals twice - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The last matches will take place in a night session instead of early afternoon

Competitor Details

Local players - or overseas competitors who have signed up with the governing body - can participate in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with a single non-professional from every geographic division chosen to compete in the 'championship round' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which amateurs, developing professionals, famous personalities and sport stars can participate in

It begins on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will receive the prize. Entries will start imminently at facilities nationwide"

Tournament officials said there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site said "famous personalities" would be involved