Carlos Alcaraz to Face Amateurs in Seven-Figure Winner-Takes-All Event

Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting an opportunity to earn one million Australian dollars when they take on tennis' top professionals - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before January's Australian Open

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

How the Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to determine who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the following stage

The victor of the event will take home approximately half a million pounds

By comparison, players who reached the semi-finals of the main draw competitions in the previous year's tournament won substantial prize money

Past Comparable Tournaments

The US Open hosted a revamped, independent mixed doubles tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Australian Open held its first-ever single-point competition earlier this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the only top-10 player involved, and his run concluded when he put the sole serving chance permitted into the mesh in his last eight match

Event Specifics

Planners have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is expected to mirror a akin setup to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the everyday players twice - as is the standard practice in standard play

While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

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

Competitor Requirements

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with the national federation - can participate in 'single-point competition' events at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every region and area selected to participate in the 'grand finale' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which everyday players, lower ranked pros, celebrities and sport stars can participate in

It starts on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will advance to the following day's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Regardless of your skill level, the final champion will walk away with the reward. Applications will begin shortly at facilities throughout the nation"

Competition planners said there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the official website mentioned "famous personalities" would be participating