Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the possibility to earn one million Australian dollars when they compete against tennis' top professionals - headed by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle leading up to the Australian Grand Slam
Event planners of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the tournament grounds
Participants must play 'the decision-making game' to decide who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the next round
The victor of the event will earn a significant cash prize
By comparison, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m
The US Open staged a revamped, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize
The year's first major held its first-ever quick-fire event earlier this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it had limited exposure
The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his progress finished when he sent the sole serving chance granted into the net in his quarter-final
Officials have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is anticipated to follow a comparable structure to the previous version
The top competitors will be permitted to make one service and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis
While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue
The last matches will occur in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time
Domestic competitors - or overseas competitors who have signed up with the national federation - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their local tennis clubs
The champions of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every state and territory selected to take part in the 'championship round' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January
There will also be a entry tournament in December which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, celebrities and athletic celebrities can participate in
It commences on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will go into the following day's 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes
"No matter your experience, the overall victor will claim the reward. Applications will start imminently at clubs nationwide"
Tournament officials said there were "additional stars to be announced soon", while the event portal mentioned "famous personalities" would be involved
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