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Recreational competitors will have the chance to earn A$1m when they take on tennis' top professionals - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point prior to the year's first major

Tournament officials of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

This Innovative Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to determine who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the subsequent phase

The victor of the event will receive a significant cash prize

For comparison, players who made it to the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Past Related Competitions

The New York major staged a restructured, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever One Point Slam in the current season, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the sole elite competitor participating, and his campaign concluded when he put the sole serving chance permitted into the mesh in his last eight match

Competition Details

Officials have not detailed exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to emulate a comparable structure to this year's edition

The elite players will be allowed to serve once and the amateurs on two occasions - as is the norm in traditional tennis

While it is uncertain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

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

Competitor Information

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have signed up with the national federation - can enter 'quick-match event' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The victors of the community events will then go into a draw, with one amateur player from every state and territory picked to compete in the 'championship round' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a entry tournament in the final month which everyday players, aspiring competitors, famous personalities and sport stars can compete in

It starts on the starting date and the successful competitors will qualify for the following day's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and 10 professionals

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will claim the prize. Entries will start imminently at venues across the country"

Competition planners said there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the official website mentioned "celebrities" would be taking part