Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to earn A$1m when they compete against world-class athletes - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle before January's Australian Open
Organizers of the Melbourne major have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park
Players will play 'the decision-making game' to determine who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will progress to the next round
The winner of the event will earn approximately half a million pounds
By comparison, players who advanced to the final four of the men's or women's singles in the previous year's tournament won over a million Australian dollars
The American Grand Slam hosted a revamped, independent mixed doubles tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the champions receiving one million US dollars
The year's first major held its inaugural quick-fire event this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity
One top competitor was the sole elite competitor competing, and his run concluded when he directed the sole serving chance permitted into the net in his penultimate round
Officials have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is projected to mirror a akin setup to this year's edition
The elite players will be granted to serve once and the non-professionals on two occasions - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis
While it is unclear how the bracket will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the venue will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the secondary venue
The last matches will occur in a evening slot instead of 1pm local time
Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have registered with Tennis Australia - can compete in 'One Point Slam' tournaments at their local tennis clubs
The winners of the community events will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every geographic division picked to participate in the 'final competition' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January
There will also be a entry tournament in December which amateurs, lower ranked pros, celebrities and athletic celebrities can participate in
It commences on the starting date and the pair of champions will go into the midweek 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and top-ranked athletes
"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the overall victor will claim the reward. Applications will start imminently at venues across the country"
Event organizers mentioned there were "additional stars to be unveiled imminently", while the event portal said "celebrities" would be involved
A geospatial analyst with over a decade of experience in terrain modeling and environmental data visualization.
