🔗 Share this article

Recreational competitors are being offered the chance to earn one million Australian dollars when they face world-class athletes - including leading player the Spanish champion - in a single-point showdown prior to the Australian Grand Slam

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the Australian Open venue

The Unique Event Will Work

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the following stage

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

For comparison, players who reached the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Previous Similar Events

The US Open hosted a restructured, independent mixed doubles tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to compete, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The Melbourne tournament held its debut One Point Slam in the current season, but the total purse was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the only top-10 player involved, and his campaign came to an end when he directed the one and only serve granted failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Event Details

Organizers have not detailed exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a akin setup to this year's edition

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the amateurs twice - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The final stages will be held in a nighttime schedule instead of early afternoon

Entry Information

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can enter 'single-point competition' events at their community centers

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every region and area chosen to participate in the 'championship round' in a evening match on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, well-known figures and athletic celebrities can enter

It begins on the starting date and the pair of champions will advance to Wednesday's 'final showdown' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will receive the award. Entries will begin shortly at clubs throughout the nation"

Competition planners said there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site mentioned "famous personalities" would be taking part