There’s no majors on the schedule until the US Open in August due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but tennis fans can enjoy a grand slam with a difference this weekend.
On Sunday 3 May eight of IMG’s top tennis clients – including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori and Maria Sharapova – will participate alongside other celebrities in a live virtual tennis tournament titled the “Stay at Home Slam”.
Played on Mario Tennis Aces for Nintendo Switch, the Stay at Home Slam will see stars compete from their homes and each will receive $25,000 donated to the charity of their choice. The winner of the tournament will also receive an additional $1m in donation.
As well as the all-star line-up on the virtual court, legendary tennis player John McEnroe and popular YouTube personality iJustine (Justine Ezarik) will be commentating on the matches.
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Max Eisenbud, SVP of tennis clients at IMG, said: “I am proud our IMG tennis clients came together so quickly to support a multitude of great causes. It is a testament to the people we work with across all our divisions that we were able to bring this to life in such a short amount of time.”
Evan Shugerman, Facebook athlete partnerships lead, added: “It’s been incredible to see the creative ways athletes are using social media to support people during this difficult time.
“We’re excited to be partnering with IMG to contribute to those efforts, which will bring some of the world’s top athletes together on Facebook for an entertaining and impactful competition.”
Sunday’s Stay at Home Slam starts at 9pm British Summer Time (4pm ET / 1pm PT) and will be streamed exclusively on Facebook Gaming and IMG’s tennis Facebook page.
Who is competing?
The tennis stars and their celebrity doubles partners are:
- Serena Williams and Gigi Hadid
- Naomi Osaka and Hailey Bieber
- Venus Williams and DeAndre Hopkins
- Maria Sharapova and Karlie Kloss
- Kei Nishikori and Steve Aoki
- Madison Keys and Seal
- Taylor Fritz and Addison Rae
- Kevin Anderson and Ryan Tannehill