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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the chance to claim a seven-figure prize when they compete against tennis' top professionals - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown before the Australian Grand Slam

Event planners of the Melbourne major have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

How the Tournament Functions

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will progress to the following stage

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

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

Past Comparable Tournaments

The New York major staged a restructured, independent mixed doubles tournament in August which prompted top singles players to compete, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its first-ever quick-fire event this year, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player involved, and his campaign finished when he directed the single service opportunity allowed into the mesh in his penultimate round

Tournament Specifics

Officials have not detailed exactly how the event will function, but it is expected to emulate a similar format to this year's edition

The elite players will be allowed to serve once and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is unclear how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the venue will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The last matches will take place in a evening slot instead of midday timing

Entry Details

Any Australians - or international players who have registered with the national federation - can participate in 'quick-match event' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every region and area selected to take part in the 'final competition' in a evening match on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a entry tournament in December which non-professionals, developing professionals, well-known figures and sport stars can compete in

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will advance to the midweek 'grand finale' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Entries will begin shortly at clubs nationwide"

Tournament officials stated there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the event portal said "famous personalities" would be participating