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Everyday tennis enthusiasts are being offered the possibility to win a seven-figure prize when they take on tennis' top professionals - headed by world number one the Spanish champion - in a one-point battle leading up to the year's first major

Organizers of the year's first Grand Slam have unveiled the Seven-Figure Quick-Fire Competition, which will pit a dozen non-professionals against 22 professionals in a elimination competition at the Australian Open venue

How the Event Will Work

Players will play 'the classic hand game' to determine who gets to serve or return, and whoever wins the point will move forward to the following stage

The victor of the event will take home a significant cash prize

By comparison, players who reached the penultimate round of the men's or women's singles in the 2025 Australian Open won A$1.1m

Earlier Similar Events

The US Open staged a redesigned, independent combined gender tournament in late summer which encouraged top singles players to compete, with the champions receiving a million-dollar prize

The year's first major held its inaugural single-point competition this year, but the total purse was a smaller amount and it generated little publicity

Andrey Rublev was the sole elite competitor involved, and his run concluded when he sent the sole serving chance allowed into the mesh in his last eight match

Event Details

Officials have not detailed 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 have a single serve and the everyday players twice - as is the norm in standard play

While it is not certain how the draw will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the main stadium rather than the alternative court

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

Participation Details

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with the national federation - can enter 'quick-match event' events at their local tennis clubs

The victors of the community events will then go into a draw, with a single non-professional from every state and territory chosen to take part in the 'final competition' in a night session on Wednesday, 14 January

There will also be a qualifying draw in late year which non-professionals, developing professionals, celebrities and sports personalities can participate in

It starts on the starting date and the pair of champions will advance to the following day's 'grand finale' with the additional everyday players and 10 professionals

"Regardless of your skill level, the overall victor will claim the prize. Registrations will begin shortly at facilities across the country"

Tournament officials mentioned there were "more big names to be announced soon", while the event portal mentioned "celebrities" would be taking part