Serena & Venus Williams To Headline Tie Break Tens’ Tennis Tournament
WHAT: Global sports icons Serena and Venus Williams, together with six of the best US and international female tennis players, will take to the court for a one-night-only competition, vying for the $250,000 grand prize at Madison Square Garden.
Tie Break Tens is a new fast-paced, short-form tennis format in which eight players compete in a knock-out format, with each match consisting of a super tie-break to 10 points. Unlike conventional tennis matches, Tie Break Tens matches are comprised solely of tie breaks – no games, no sets, just exhilarating 10-point breakers in which every point counts.
The all-female event is the first Tie Break Tens tournament to be held in the United States and follows successful tournaments in London, Vienna, Madrid and Melbourne.
WHO: Players for the New York tournament are:
- Serena Williams—With more than 300 weeks as the world No. 1, Serena is rightly considered one of the best tennis players of all time, with 23 singles Grand Slam titles, 14 in doubles, 2 in mixed doubles and four Olympic Gold Medals.
- Venus Williams—Current ranked No. 8 in singles, Venus holds 49 WTA singles titles, including 7 Grand Slam titles. She is also the only tennis player to have won a medal at four separate Olympic Game.
- Elina Svitolina—Currently ranked No. 4 in the world, Elina has won 10 WTA singles titles, including recent wins at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Italian Open and Canadian Open during the 2017 season.
- CoCo Vandeweghe—CoCo is currently ranked No. 17 in the world and holds two WTA titles. During the 2017 season, she reached two Grand Slam semifinals and the final of the WTA Elite Trophy in women’s singles.
- Shuai Zhang—Chinese tennis star Shuai reached a career high singles ranking of 23 in 2016 and holds two singles titles. She was a quarterfinalist in the Australian Open in 2016.
- Sorana Cirstea—Currently ranked No. 35, Sorana reached her first final in Budapest at age 17 and her first Grand Slam quarterfinals at the 2009 French Open.
- Marion Bartoli—In her first competition since coming out of retirement, Marion is the 2013 Wimbledon Champion. Reaching her highest rank of No. 7 in 2012, Marion won eight singles titles and three doubles titles before retiring from professional tennis in 2013.
- Daniela Hantuchová—Before retiring in 2017, Daniela won seven WTA tournaments and reached a career high ranking of 5 in 2003. Daniela is only the fifth female player to have won all four doubles Grand Slams.
WHERE: Madison Square Garden, 8 Penn Plaza (corner of 8th Avenue at 33rd Street) New York, NY, 10001
WHEN: Monday, March 5, 2018; 7 pm arrival; event begins 7:30 pm.
WHY: On the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8, Tie Break Tens’ U.S. competition will feature some of the world’s top female players and builds on Tie Break Tens’ teaming with the Women’s Sports Foundation to support the organization’s mission of advancing the lives of women through sport and physical activity. A WSF Patron will be at the event, awarding the New York Champion with the trophy at MSG. The competition’s fast-paced, short format and all-star line-up will make the sport of tennis more accessible and inspire a new generation of tennis fans to pick up a racket.
SOURCE Tie Break Tens
