Alcaraz to Face Non-Professionals in Million Dollar Single-Point Showdown
Amateur players will have the possibility to claim A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to the Australian Grand Slam
Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair 10 amateur players against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the tournament grounds
This Innovative Tournament Functions
Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will advance to the subsequent phase
The champion of the event will take home a significant cash prize
Contextually, players who made it to the final four of the primary tournaments in the last edition won substantial prize money
Earlier Similar Events
The US Open organized a redesigned, separate mixed doubles tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving one million US dollars
The Australian Open held its inaugural One Point Slam earlier this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it received minimal attention
Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his progress came to an end when he sent the single service opportunity granted into the mesh in his penultimate round
Competition Details
Officials have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is expected to mirror a comparable structure to this year's edition
The elite players will be permitted to serve once and the amateurs two times - as is the norm in conventional tennis
While it is not certain how the bracket will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the location will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the alternative court
The final stages will take place in a nighttime schedule instead of 1pm local time
Participation Information
Local players - or overseas competitors who have registered with the governing body - can participate in 'single-point competition' tournaments at their neighborhood facilities
The victors of the community events will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every geographic division chosen to compete in the 'grand finale' in a night session on the specified date
There will also be a qualifying draw in December which non-professionals, lower ranked pros, famous personalities and sport stars can enter
It starts on the starting date and the two winners will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and 10 professionals
"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will walk away with the prize. Applications will begin shortly at facilities across the country"
Tournament officials stated there were "additional stars to be revealed shortly", while the event portal mentioned "famous personalities" would be taking part