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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the chance to win A$1m when they compete against world-class athletes - including world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will match everyday competitors against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at Melbourne Park

How the Competition Operates

Players will play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who takes the serve or return position, and the player who wins the point will advance to the following stage

The victor of the event will receive a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars

Past Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam organized a restructured, separate combined gender tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its first-ever One Point Slam this year, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the sole elite competitor participating, and his progress finished when he sent the one and only serve permitted into the mesh in his last eight match

Event Details

Officials have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is expected to mirror a comparable structure to this year's edition

The top competitors will be permitted to make one service and the everyday players two times - as is the usual procedure in standard play

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the alternative court

The last matches will occur in a nighttime schedule instead of 1pm local time

Competitor Requirements

Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have signed up with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every state and territory picked to take part in the 'final competition' in a evening match on mid-January

There will also be a qualifying draw in the final month which amateurs, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sports personalities can participate in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will go into Wednesday's 'grand finale' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will walk away with the prize. Registrations will begin shortly at facilities across the country"

Tournament officials said there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the official website indicated "celebrities" would be taking part