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Recreational competitors are getting an opportunity to claim A$1m when they compete against tennis' top professionals - headed by top-ranked the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to January's Australian Open

Organizers of the Melbourne major have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pit 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue

How the Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to decide who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will advance to the following stage

The winner of the event will take home a significant cash prize

For comparison, players who reached 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, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to participate, with the champions receiving a million-dollar prize

The Australian Open held its inaugural single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the only top-10 player involved, and his run finished when he sent the sole serving chance granted into the mesh in his quarter-final

Tournament Information

Planners have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is expected to mirror a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be allowed to make one service and the non-professionals two times - as is the standard practice in traditional tennis

While it is uncertain how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will occur in a night session instead of early afternoon

Participation Information

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with the governing body - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their community centers

The champions of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every state and territory chosen to participate in the 'final competition' in a evening match on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in late year which amateurs, lower ranked pros, celebrities and sports personalities can enter

It begins on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will receive the prize. Applications will start imminently at venues across the country"

Tournament officials stated there were "additional stars to be announced soon", while the tournament site indicated "well-known figures" would be participating