🔗 Share this article

Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the possibility to win one million Australian dollars when they face tennis' top professionals - featuring world number one the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle leading up to the year's first major

Tournament officials of the year's first Grand Slam have announced the $1 Million Single-Point Tournament, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

This Innovative Competition Operates

Participants must play 'the classic hand game' to determine who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the subsequent phase

The champion of the event will receive approximately half a million pounds

For comparison, players who advanced to the penultimate round of the main draw competitions in the 2025 Australian Open won over a million Australian dollars

Previous Related Competitions

The American Grand Slam hosted a revamped, standalone mixed doubles tournament in late summer which motivated top singles players to take part, with the winners receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its first-ever quick-fire event in the current season, but the prize fund was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player competing, and his progress concluded when he directed the one and only serve granted into the mesh in his penultimate round

Event Information

Organizers have not said exactly how the event will operate, but it is projected to mirror a comparable structure to this year's edition

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

While it is uncertain how the bracket will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the primary court rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will occur in a nighttime schedule instead of midday timing

Participation Requirements

Local players - or overseas competitors who have enrolled with the national federation - can enter 'One Point Slam' events at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the community events will then go into a selection process, with a single non-professional from every geographic division selected to participate in the 'final competition' in a nighttime event on mid-January

There will also be a preliminary competition in December which non-professionals, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can participate in

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the successful competitors will qualify for the following day's 'final showdown' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"No matter your experience, the ultimate winner will receive the prize. Entries will start imminently at clubs nationwide"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "further celebrities to be unveiled imminently", while the tournament site mentioned "well-known figures" would be involved