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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to earn one million Australian dollars when they face elite players - featuring top-ranked the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle before the Australian Grand Slam

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

How the Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to determine who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will earn £490,000

By comparison, players who reached the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Similar Events

The American Grand Slam staged a redesigned, standalone mixed doubles tournament in the eighth month which motivated top singles players to compete, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The Australian Open held its first-ever single-point competition in the current season, but the prize fund was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the sole elite competitor involved, and his run finished when he directed the single service opportunity granted into the mesh in his quarter-final

Competition Specifics

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is projected to emulate a akin setup to the most recent iteration

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

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the venue will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will occur in a nighttime schedule instead of early afternoon

Participation Details

Any Australians - or international players who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every geographic division picked to take part in the 'grand finale' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

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

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Entries will open soon at facilities nationwide"

Tournament officials stated there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the event portal mentioned "well-known figures" would be involved