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Recreational competitors will have an opportunity to earn A$1m when they face world-class athletes - including leading player the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown leading up to the year's first major

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

The Unique Event Will Work

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to establish who serves or receives, and whoever wins the point will advance to the next round

The victor of the event will receive a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Previous Related Competitions

The New York major staged a revamped, independent combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to compete, with the champions receiving $1m

The Australian Open held its inaugural quick-fire event earlier this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his progress concluded when he put the one and only serve granted into the mesh in his last eight match

Event Information

Planners have not detailed exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to follow a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The elite players will be permitted to make one service and the amateurs two times - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The final stages will take place in a evening slot instead of early afternoon

Entry Details

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with the governing body - can compete in 'quick-match event' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every state and territory chosen to take part in the 'final competition' in a night session 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 begins on the starting date and the pair of champions will go into the midweek 'grand finale' 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 clubs across the country"

Competition planners said there were "more big names to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site mentioned "well-known figures" would be taking part