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Amateur players are being offered the chance to earn a seven-figure prize when they face elite players - including world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point prior to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at Melbourne Park

The Unique Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to determine who takes the serve or return position, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the next round

The winner of the event will earn approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who reached the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Similar Events

The US Open hosted a restructured, standalone combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural One Point Slam earlier this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it had limited exposure

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his progress finished when he put the sole serving chance permitted into the net in his last eight match

Competition Information

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to emulate a similar format to this year's edition

The elite players will be allowed to make one service and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will be held in a nighttime schedule instead of 1pm local time

Participation Requirements

Local players - or international players who have registered with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their community centers

The champions of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every geographic division picked to take part in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in the final month which everyday players, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sport stars can enter

It begins on the starting date and the pair of champions will advance to the following day's 'championship match' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the ultimate winner will walk away with the reward. Entries will start imminently at clubs throughout the nation"

Event organizers mentioned there were "additional stars to be revealed shortly", while the event portal said "famous personalities" would be taking part