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Recreational competitors will have an opportunity to claim one million Australian dollars when they take on world-class athletes - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a single-point showdown prior to the Australian Grand Slam

Tournament officials of the Australian Open have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

This Innovative Competition Operates

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who serves or receives, and whoever wins the point will advance to the next round

The winner of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

Contextually, players who advanced to the semi-finals of the primary tournaments in the 2025 Australian Open won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Related Competitions

The New York major hosted a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its inaugural One Point Slam in the current season, but the cash prize was a smaller amount and it had limited exposure

Andrey Rublev was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his progress came to an end when he put the one and only serve allowed into the mesh in his penultimate round

Tournament Specifics

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will work, but it is projected to mirror a akin setup to this year's edition

The top competitors will be granted to have a single serve and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the norm in traditional tennis

While it is unclear how the draw will work, there will be several competitive phases and the venue will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will take place in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time

Entry Details

Local players - or international players who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can enter 'single-point competition' tournaments at their local tennis clubs

The champions of the local competitions will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every geographic division selected to take part in the 'final competition' in a night session on mid-January

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which amateurs, developing professionals, famous personalities and sport stars can enter

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will advance to the following day's 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will walk away with the award. Applications will start imminently at facilities across the country"

Tournament officials said there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the event portal mentioned "celebrities" would be taking part