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Recreational competitors will have an opportunity to win one million Australian dollars when they face tennis' top professionals - featuring world number one the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle prior to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

How the Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

The winner of the event will take home £490,000

By comparison, players who made it to the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the last edition won substantial prize money

Previous Similar Events

The New York major staged a redesigned, separate mixed doubles tournament in the eighth month which motivated top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural quick-fire event this year, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his run concluded when he directed the one and only serve permitted into the net in his quarter-final

Competition Specifics

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is anticipated to follow a comparable structure to this year's edition

The top competitors will be allowed to serve once and the non-professionals two times - as is the norm in standard play

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the site will be the main stadium rather than the smaller Kia Arena

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

Competitor Details

Domestic competitors - or international players who have signed up with the governing body - can participate in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their community centers

The champions of the community events will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every region and area chosen to compete in the 'final competition' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which non-professionals, developing professionals, famous personalities and sports personalities can enter

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'grand finale' with the remaining non-professionals and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will receive the prize. Entries will open soon at venues throughout the nation"

Competition planners mentioned there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the event portal said "well-known figures" would be taking part