Carlos Alcaraz to Face Everyday Players in Million Dollar Single-Point Showdown

Amateur players are being offered the possibility to win one million Australian dollars when they take on elite players - including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz - in a winner-takes-all point before the Australian Grand Slam

Event planners of the Australian Open have revealed the Million Dollar One Point Slam, which will match everyday competitors against 22 professionals in a knockout tournament at the tournament grounds

This Innovative Event Will Work

Competitors are set to play 'the decision-making game' to determine who serves or receives, and the player who wins the point will progress to the next round

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

By comparison, players who made it to the final four of the men's or women's singles in the 2025 Australian Open won over a million Australian dollars

Earlier Related Competitions

The New York major hosted a restructured, separate combined gender tournament in the eighth month which prompted top singles players to participate, with the winners receiving $1m

The Melbourne tournament held its inaugural One Point Slam this year, but the cash prize was A$60,000 and it received minimal attention

Andrey Rublev was the only top-10 player involved, and his progress came to an end when he put the sole serving chance permitted into the net in his penultimate round

Event Details

Planners have not said exactly how the event will work, but it is expected to follow a similar format to this year's edition

The elite players will be allowed to have a single serve and the everyday players two times - as is the standard practice in conventional tennis

While it is not certain how the pairings will work, there will be five knockout rounds and the site will be the Rod Laver Arena rather than the smaller Kia Arena

The concluding rounds will take place in a nighttime schedule instead of early afternoon

Entry Details

Any Australians - or overseas competitors who have registered with the governing body - can enter 'One Point Slam' competitions at their local tennis clubs

The winners of the grassroots tournaments will then go into a draw, with one amateur player from every state and territory picked to participate in the 'grand finale' in a night session on the specified date

There will also be a qualifying draw in December which amateurs, developing professionals, famous personalities and athletic celebrities can enter

It begins on Monday, 12 January and the pair of champions will go into Wednesday's 'final showdown' with the additional everyday players and top-ranked athletes

"No matter your experience, the overall victor will claim the reward. Registrations will start imminently at venues throughout the nation"

Event organizers said there were "more big names to be revealed shortly", while the official website indicated "famous personalities" would be participating