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Amateur players are being offered the possibility to earn A$1m when they take on elite players - headed by world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before the year's first major

Organizers of the Australian Open have unveiled the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against top-ranked players in a single-elimination format at the tournament grounds

This Innovative Competition Operates

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to decide who serves or receives, and the competitor securing the point will progress to the next round

The winner of the event will take home £490,000

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

Earlier Similar Events

The US Open staged a redesigned, standalone combined gender tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to take part, with the victors receiving a million-dollar prize

The Melbourne tournament held its debut One Point Slam this year, but the total purse was sixty thousand Australian dollars and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his progress came to an end when he sent the single service opportunity permitted into the mesh in his quarter-final

Tournament Details

Planners have not specified precisely how the event will function, but it is expected to emulate a comparable structure to this year's edition

The elite players will be permitted to make one service and the everyday players twice - 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 location will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The last matches will take place in a evening slot instead of midday timing

Entry Information

Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have registered with Tennis Australia - can participate in 'quick-match event' competitions at their neighborhood facilities

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with one amateur player from every geographic division chosen to participate in the 'championship round' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which non-professionals, aspiring competitors, well-known figures and sports personalities can participate in

It begins on the starting date and the two winners will go into the following day's 'championship match' with the remaining non-professionals and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will claim the prize. Entries will begin shortly at clubs across the country"

Competition planners mentioned there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the tournament site mentioned "celebrities" would be involved