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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the possibility to win a seven-figure prize when they take on world-class athletes - featuring leading player the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point before the year's first major

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a elimination competition at the tournament grounds

How the Competition Operates

Competitors are set to play 'the classic hand game' to establish who gets to serve or return, and the competitor securing the point will move forward to the following stage

The winner of the event will receive a significant cash prize

For comparison, players who made it to the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the last edition won substantial prize money

Past Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam staged a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which prompted top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving $1m

The Australian Open held its first-ever quick-fire event in the current season, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

The Russian player was the single high-ranked athlete involved, and his run concluded when he put the sole serving chance granted into the net in his penultimate round

Tournament Specifics

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

The top competitors will be permitted to serve once and the non-professionals two times - as is the usual procedure in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the venue will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the alternative court

The concluding rounds will be held in a night session instead of 1pm local time

Entry Information

Local players - or overseas competitors who have registered with the governing body - can participate in 'quick-match event' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with a single non-professional from every geographic division chosen to compete in the 'grand finale' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in late year which amateurs, developing professionals, celebrities and sport stars can participate in

It begins on the starting date and the successful competitors will go into the following day's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the final champion will claim the award. Entries will start imminently at venues nationwide"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the event portal said "well-known figures" would be involved