Highest-ranked American WTA player Jessica Pegula and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu will unite with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and a number of ATP players for “Stars of the Open,” a charitable event during the US Open Fan Week, aimed at generating funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
The exhibition will be highlighted by the encounter between ATP No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and Top 10 player Frances Tiafoe. Pegula, Andreescu, and Svitolina will participate in a series of mixed doubles matches, alongside four-time US Open men’s singles champion John McEnroe, Chris Eubanks, and Matteo Berrettini. According to the USTA, Pegula will be enlisting the support of “ACE,” a K9S for warriors service dog in training.
This standout event of the US Open Fan Week will also include NBA superstar Jimmy Butler and Grammy-award singer Sebastian Yatra.
Time and location: Wednesday, August 23, at 7 p.m., in Louis Armstrong Stadium
Tickets are available for $25 and $50 through TicketMaster. The entirety of the face value for every ticket will be directed towards bolstering humanitarian relief initiatives in Ukraine, channelled through the GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. (photo: Jimmie48)
I have always wondered about these fundraising matches. So best way to raise money is for the incredibly rich player to donate two hours of their time to charge ordinary people to see them, which is protrayed as being incredibly generous on their part. Why doesn’t the incredibly rich player just donate the money themselves? They can afford it much more than the ordinary person who pays to see them.
Builds a sense of community, creates more public awareness/understanding, gets young families out and about, tickets generally cost less for these events than normal tickets for a slam event, ticket prices aren’t only the funds raised by these events…think sponsorships, at home viewers, advertising etc.
Plus, how are we to know if these players haven’t donated money already? I don’t go around telling people what I donate too, why should they
It’s all just a charade to entertain people.