Carlos Alcaraz to Face Everyday Players in Seven-Figure Single-Point Showdown

Amateur players are getting an opportunity to claim A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - featuring world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown prior to the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

How the Competition Operates

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to establish who serves or receives, and whoever wins the point will progress to the following stage

The champion of the event will receive 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 Comparable Tournaments

The American Grand Slam staged a restructured, standalone combined gender tournament in August which motivated top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its debut One Point Slam this year, but the cash prize was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player involved, and his run came to an end when he put the sole serving chance permitted into the mesh in his quarter-final

Competition Specifics

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is expected to follow a similar format to this year's edition

The elite players will be permitted to make one service and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the usual procedure in standard play

While it is unclear how the pairings 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 occur in a night session instead of early afternoon

Competitor Information

Local players - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with the national federation - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the community events will then go into a draw, with one amateur player from every region and area selected to take part in the 'championship round' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which amateurs, aspiring competitors, famous personalities and sports personalities can participate in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will qualify for the following day's 'grand finale' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will receive the award. Entries will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Tournament officials said there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal indicated "well-known figures" would be taking part