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Everyday tennis enthusiasts will have the chance to win a seven-figure prize when they face tennis' top professionals - featuring world number one the Spanish champion - in a winner-takes-all point leading up to January's Australian Open

Organizers of the Australian Open have announced the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit 10 amateur players against top-ranked players in a single-elimination format at Melbourne Park

How the Tournament Functions

Competitors are set to play 'the decision-making game' to establish who serves or receives, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the following stage

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

For comparison, players who made it to the semi-finals of the main draw competitions in the last edition won over a million Australian dollars

Past Comparable Tournaments

The New York major hosted a revamped, standalone combined gender tournament in the eighth month which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving one million US dollars

The year's first major held its first-ever single-point competition earlier this year, but the prize fund was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

One top competitor was the single high-ranked athlete participating, and his progress finished when he put the one and only serve granted into the mesh in his last eight match

Event Details

Planners have not said exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to emulate a comparable structure to the most recent iteration

The elite players will be allowed to make one service and the non-professionals two times - 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 venue will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

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

Participation Information

Local players - or foreign participants who have enrolled with Tennis Australia - can enter 'single-point competition' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a selection process, with an everyday competitor from every geographic division selected to participate in the 'final competition' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a preliminary competition in December which everyday players, aspiring competitors, celebrities and sports personalities can participate in

It begins on early January and the two winners will qualify for the midweek 'championship match' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the ultimate winner will claim the award. Entries will begin shortly at facilities throughout the nation"

Tournament officials stated there were "further celebrities to be revealed shortly", while the event portal indicated "famous personalities" would be taking part