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Amateur players will have an opportunity to earn one million Australian dollars when they face elite players - including leading player Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point prior to the year's first major

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will match a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

How the Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who serves or receives, and the player who wins the point will move forward to the next round

The winner of the event will receive a significant cash prize

Contextually, players who reached the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the 2025 Australian Open won substantial prize money

Previous Similar Events

The US Open hosted a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its first-ever single-point competition earlier this year, but the cash prize was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete competing, and his run finished when he put the single service opportunity allowed failing to clear the net in his penultimate round

Tournament Specifics

Planners have not said exactly how the event will function, but it is projected to mirror a similar format to the previous version

The elite players will be granted to serve once and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the standard practice in traditional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the primary court rather than the secondary venue

The last matches will occur in a night session instead of 1pm local time

Participation Information

Any Australians - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can compete in 'single-point competition' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The champions of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division chosen to participate in the 'grand finale' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in the final month which amateurs, developing professionals, famous personalities and athletic celebrities can participate in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will advance to the following day's 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will walk away with the award. Registrations will open soon at venues throughout the nation"

Tournament officials said there were "further celebrities to be announced soon", while the event portal said "celebrities" would be taking part