Carlos Alcaraz to Face Amateurs in $1 Million Winner-Takes-All Event
Amateur players will have the chance to win A$1m when they face tennis' top professionals - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before the Australian Grand Slam
Organizers of the Australian Open have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match 10 amateur players against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at the Australian Open venue
How the Event Will Work
Players will 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 victor of the event will take home a significant cash prize
For comparison, players who reached the final four of the primary tournaments in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars
Earlier Related Competitions
The US Open organized a revamped, separate mixed doubles tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to compete, with the champions receiving $1m
The year's first major held its first-ever single-point competition earlier this year, but the total purse was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it had limited exposure
Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player participating, and his campaign finished when he directed the single service opportunity permitted into the net in his quarter-final
Event Specifics
Planners have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is projected to mirror a similar format to the previous version
The top competitors will be granted to serve once and the everyday players on two occasions - as is the standard practice in standard play
While it is not certain how the draw 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
Any Australians - or foreign participants who have signed up with Tennis Australia - can enter 'One Point Slam' competitions at their local tennis clubs
The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every region and area selected to participate in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on mid-January
There will also be a qualifying draw in late year which everyday players, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sports personalities can compete in
It begins on the starting date and the two winners will go into the midweek 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and elite competitors
"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will claim the award. Registrations will start imminently at clubs nationwide"
Event organizers stated there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site indicated "celebrities" would be taking part