The Australian Open is gearing up to stun tennis lovers next season, come January. A lucrative, million-dollar opportunity is coming their way. Of course, it is going to be a ‘world-first’ experience for everyone coming to Melbourne this time. In 2026, not only top-ranked professionals but even amateurs will get to pocket handsome prize money. The hype is such that six-time slam winner Carlos Alcaraz is already on board. And now, even his archrival Jannik Sinner and a 7-time slam queen have welcomed the novel edge.

Earlier this week, the official team of the Australian Open, led by tournament director Craig Tiley, unveiled the ‘Million-Dollar 1 Point Slam’- a special event set to take place during the Opening Week before the main draw action. Per Tiley, it will be “a thrilling new initiative where one point could win you $1 million,” reported Australian Open’s website on October 7. The Director confirmed that many renowned players are going to be featured in this one-of-a-kind experience.

Apart from Alcaraz, other top-ranked ATP and WTA stars have welcomed this gambit as well. In an episode of the official AO podcast, Tiley mentioned, “On social media, it (1 Point Slam) was picked up fairly significantly. I know we had an impact because we got a call from Jannik Sinner, we got a call from Venus Williams, we got a call from pro players that are really keen and wanting to sign up.”

The key objective of having the ‘Million Dollar 1 Point Slam’, Tiley explained, “The whole idea about it is – not so much on professional side – is to really activate the community. It’s for everyone to feel like they have a chance to play something this Australian Open.”

The event will comprise 22 professional players taking on 10 amateurs. They will be selected from across the country. Speaking of the format, it will stay similar to the regular elimination draw. That means playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’ will decide who serves and who receives at the beginning of a match.

The official website states, “Whoever wins the point wins the match and progresses to the next round, while the loser of the point is eliminated from the event. The winner of the final match wins the $1 million prize.” The initiative aims to bring more fans to Melbourne after the slam’s unprecedented success this year. More than 1.2 million people visited the venue during the 2024 edition. But now it seems the slam down under is trying to experiment in efforts draw more engagement. Something the US Open did recently.

Australian Open to follow in the footsteps of the US Open

A month ago, the American hard court slam did a Fan Week ahead of the main draw action. A reinvented mixed doubles format was unveiled. It featured the top singles players from the ATP and WTA in pairs.

Fans witnessed teams of two, involving the likes of Carlos Alcaraz-Emma Raducanu, Taylor Fritz-Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula-Jack Draper, among others. This refreshing change ended up doing wonders for the viewership of the US Open.

During the Fan Week, ahead of main draw encounters, the two-day mixed doubles event attracted 78,000 fans to the ground. Matches held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium were fully sold out. When it comes eyeballs, the event generated a viewership of 343,000 people on ESPN.

Taking the US Open as a blueprint, the Australian Open is trying to pull off a similar feat with the ‘Million Dollar 1 Point Slam.’ The officials will expect to get more viewership during their Opening Week. Even more appealing is that alongside renowned professionals like Alcaraz, several celebrity wildcards will also make an appearance. They could be athletes from other sports.

It will be intriguing to see whether this experience will turn into a record-smashing success for AO in January 2026.