Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff the latest top players to sign up for lucrative 1 Point Slam exhibition with A$1 million on the line

There have been two more editions to the lucrative A$1 million 1 Point Slam exhibition event that will take place during Opening Week at Melbourne Park. Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will join in the competition as they look to go into the Australian Open a lot richer.

This competition has been created by the organisers to help engagement increase ahead of the season's opening Grand Slam. The tournament is very unique. It will see 22 tennis professional face off against 10 amateurs in the hope that they can clinch glory. The sum equates to either $659,000 or £493,000, not a bad day's work for just winning one point.

It will be a knockout tournament featuring the 32 players, going ahead a week before the Australian Open main draw gets underway. It will be played on the biggest show court, the Rod Laver Arena. The rules are completely different from what tennis fans are used to seeing on the ATP or WTA Tours. A crucial game of rock paper scissors will determine who serves. After that, the opponents will clash for just one point. The winner advances to the next round while the loser waves goodbye to their chance of taking home a huge sum of cash. The last person standing wins the coveted A$1 million and the chance to call themselves the 1 Point Slam champion.

There is already a world class lineup on the cards. World number one Carlos Alcaraz was the first name to be shortlisted for the event. He was closely joined by former Wimbledon finalist and home favourite Nick Kyrgios, who is looking to continue his journey back into competing regularly at tennis events. Adding to those two, four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner will also step to the court, with the prospect of another Sinner-Alcaraz final a possibility.

Along with them, the first two professional women tennis players have been unveiled. The duo have not experienced the best form in the Grand Slam event Down Under, but they will be hoping that their fortunes turn around. Swiatek is a two-time semi-finalist. She looked like she would finally have a shot at glory in the final but was pegged back by an inform Madison Keys who went on to collect the title. It is the only major trophy not in the Pole's trophy cabinet, and she is determined to get it. Gauff also has high ambitions for this title. After clinching the Roland Garros title, her form started to go downhill. She had struggled badly with her serve while being involved in a whole heap of close encounters, using her quality and class to get out of them. With the off-season drawing to a close, she will be hoping to be back in the winning enclosure, starting with the 1 Point Slam.

Australian Open director Craig Tiley was very pleased to have these former Grand Slam champions join the show. “Having stars like Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff committed to play, alongside everyday Australians qualifying through State Championships, captures exactly what this event is about, bringing people together through tennis in an exciting and inclusive way,” he stated.

Before this, Swiatek and Gauff will compete against each other in the United Cup. It was the American who got one over the six-time Grand Slam champion last year as the United States won their second United Cup title, defeating Poland in the final who made it back-to-back runners-up. They are two of the favourites to go the distant once more in an event stacked with highly regarded players and teams. The tournament will kick off ahead of the Australian Open, beginning January 2-11.