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Amateur players are getting the possibility to earn one million Australian dollars when they compete against world-class athletes - featuring world number one Carlos Alcaraz - in a one-point battle prior to January's Australian Open

Event planners of the Australian Open have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pair a dozen non-professionals against elite athletes in a knockout tournament at Melbourne Park

How the Tournament Functions

Participants must play 'rock, paper, scissors' to establish who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will progress to the following stage

The winner of the event will earn £490,000

For comparison, players who made it to the penultimate round of the primary tournaments in the previous year's tournament won A$1.1m

Previous Related Competitions

The US Open hosted a restructured, separate combined gender tournament in August which encouraged top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving $1m

The year's first major held its first-ever quick-fire event earlier this year, but the prize fund was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

One top competitor was the only top-10 player participating, and his campaign came to an end when he sent the one and only serve permitted failing to clear the net in his last eight match

Competition Details

Organizers have not specified precisely how the event will operate, but it is projected to follow a similar format to this year's edition

The elite players will be allowed to have a single serve and the non-professionals two times - as is the norm in standard play

While it is unclear how the pairings will work, there will be several competitive phases and the location will be the main stadium rather than the secondary venue

The concluding rounds will take place in a night session instead of early afternoon

Competitor Information

Domestic competitors - or foreign participants who have enrolled with the national federation - can enter 'quick-match event' events at their community centers

The champions of the community events will then go into a random pairing, with one amateur player from every geographic division chosen to participate in the 'grand finale' in a nighttime event on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a preliminary competition in the final month which amateurs, developing professionals, celebrities and athletic celebrities can compete in

It commences on the starting date and the successful competitors will advance to the following day's 'grand finale' with the other eight amateurs and elite competitors

"Whether you're an amateur or a pro, the final champion will receive the prize. Entries will start imminently at venues nationwide"

Tournament officials stated there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the event portal indicated "well-known figures" would be taking part