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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are getting the possibility to claim A$1m when they compete against tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle leading up to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a elimination competition at Melbourne Park

How the Tournament Functions

Players will play 'the decision-making game' to determine who takes the serve or return position, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will receive a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who reached the final four of the primary tournaments in the 2025 Australian Open won over a million Australian dollars

Past Related Competitions

The New York major staged a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to take part, with the champions receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its first-ever One Point Slam this year, but the total purse was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the sole elite competitor competing, and his progress finished when he put the single service opportunity granted into the net in his quarter-final

Event Information

Officials have not specified precisely how the event will work, but it is projected to mirror a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The professionals will be granted to serve once and the everyday players twice - as is the norm in traditional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be multiple elimination stages and the venue will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The final stages will be held in a night session instead of midday timing

Participation Requirements

Local players - or foreign participants who have registered with the national federation - can participate in 'single-point competition' events at their neighborhood facilities

The victors of the local competitions will then go into a random pairing, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division picked to compete in the 'championship round' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a entry tournament in December which everyday players, aspiring competitors, well-known figures and sport stars can compete in

It commences on Monday, 12 January and the two winners will go into Wednesday's 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and elite competitors

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will claim the prize. Entries will start imminently at venues nationwide"

Event organizers stated there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site indicated "well-known figures" would be involved