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Amateur players will have the possibility to win A$1m when they face elite players - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point before January's Australian Open

Organizers of the Australian Open have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at Melbourne Park

How the Tournament Functions

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will progress to the following stage

The champion of the event will earn approximately half a million pounds

For comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the 2025 Australian Open won substantial prize money

Previous Similar Events

The American Grand Slam organized a redesigned, separate combined gender tournament in the eighth month which prompted top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural quick-fire event earlier this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the only top-10 player involved, and his campaign came to an end when he put the sole serving chance permitted into the net in his penultimate round

Tournament Information

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is anticipated to follow a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the non-professionals two times - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the primary court rather than the alternative court

The concluding rounds will be held in a night session instead of early afternoon

Entry Requirements

Domestic competitors - or overseas competitors who have registered with the governing body - can participate in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their community centers

The champions of the community events will then go into a draw, with a single non-professional from every geographic division picked to participate in the 'final competition' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, celebrities and sport stars can compete in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will advance to the following day's 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will claim the prize. Applications will start imminently at facilities throughout the nation"

Competition planners said there were "additional stars to be revealed shortly", while the official website mentioned "famous personalities" would be taking part