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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the possibility to earn one million Australian dollars when they compete against world-class athletes - featuring world number one the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown prior to the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the Australian Open have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will match a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at Melbourne Park

How the Event Will Work

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will progress to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will take home a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Related Competitions

The New York major organized a redesigned, standalone mixed doubles tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving a million-dollar prize

The Australian Open held its first-ever single-point competition this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

One top competitor was the sole elite competitor participating, and his progress came to an end when he directed the one and only serve granted into the net in his penultimate round

Event Information

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to follow a similar format to the previous version

The professionals will be permitted to make one service and the non-professionals twice - as is the standard practice in traditional tennis

While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

The concluding rounds will occur in a night session instead of 1pm local time

Participation Requirements

Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have signed up with the national federation - can compete in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the community events will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division selected to take part in the 'grand finale' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in December which everyday players, developing professionals, famous personalities and athletic celebrities can enter

It begins on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and top-ranked athletes

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the final champion will walk away with the reward. Entries will begin shortly at facilities throughout the nation"

Event organizers said there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal said "celebrities" would be participating