Alcaraz to Face Non-Professionals in Seven-Figure Winner-Takes-All Event

Amateur players will have the chance to claim a seven-figure prize when they take on elite players - including world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle leading up to January's Australian Open

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match everyday competitors against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

This Innovative Tournament Functions

Participants must play 'the decision-making game' to establish who takes the serve or return position, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will earn £490,000

For comparison, players who reached the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Previous Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam hosted a restructured, separate mixed doubles tournament in August which prompted top singles players to participate, with the champions receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its debut One Point Slam this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his progress finished when he sent the sole serving chance granted into the net in his quarter-final

Event Information

Officials have not detailed exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a similar format to this year's edition

The top competitors will be allowed to have a single serve and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the norm in traditional tennis

While it is unclear how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the location will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

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

Entry Details

Local players - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can compete in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division chosen to compete in the 'championship round' in a evening match on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a entry tournament in late year which everyday players, aspiring competitors, famous personalities and sports personalities can participate in

It begins on the starting date and the pair of champions will go into the midweek 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the final champion will claim the reward. Applications will begin shortly at clubs across the country"

Event organizers mentioned there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site said "famous personalities" would be taking part