Tennis Hall of Famers Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin, and former world No. 7 Mardy Fish have joined the all-star lineup for Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT) Smash Hits on Monday, Oct. 12, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The player field for the one night charity tennis event, co-hosted by Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King, also includes four former world No. 1s - Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf, Martina Navratilova and Andy Roddick.
Tennis action is set to begin at 7 p.m. on a specially-constructed tennis court in the valet parking lot adjacent to Caesars Palace Drive. This year’s annual event will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN). A portion of the funds raised at the pre-match VIP Reception and Auction will be specifically targeted for local programs.
Tickets for Mylan WTT Smash Hits are on sale. Premium reserved chair back seats are $125, and general admission seats are $45. Order tickets through www.WTTSmashHits.com or axs.com, or by calling The Colosseum at Caesars Palace box office at (866) 320-9763 or AXS at (888) 929-7849. For group sales of 10 or more tickets, call USTA Nevada at (702) 792-8384 x. 101.
Caesars Palace, which is home to Elton John’s hit show “The Million Dollar Piano,” will also be offering packages that include tickets to Elton’s show and special room rates. All available packages are listed at www.WTT.com/SmashHotel.
The player lineup for Mylan WTT Smash Hits is impressive, with more than 700 singles and doubles titles between them plus 100 Grand Slam Championships and three Olympic gold medals. Davenport and Austin will complete a quartet of Hall of Fame members for a legendary set of women’s doubles, joining Navratilova and Graf. These four former world No. 1s represent a total of 590 singles and doubles titles, including 89 grand slam championships, and four Olympic medals.
Davenport, who is the current coach of American star Madison Keys, was ranked No. 1 in the world in both singles and doubles. She is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion (1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon, 2000 Australian Open) and also won three Grand Slam doubles titles (1996 French Open, 1997 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon). Davenport won 55 singles titles and 38 doubles titles during her pro career, and also captured the gold medal in singles at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014. This is the fourth Smash Hits for Davenport who is very experienced in the WTT format, having played 10 seasons of Mylan World TeamTennis and winning the Female MVP twice. She also led Sacramento to three Mylan WTT titles.
Austin, who participated in the inaugural Smash Hits event in 1993, won two US Open singles championships and a Wimbledon mixed doubles title. After setting the mark as the youngest ever US Open champion at 16 years and 9 months, she also became the youngest person inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at age 29. Although her career was cut short by injuries and a serious car accident, Austin won 30 career singles titles on the WTA Tour. This is her third Smash Hits event.
Fish, who announced he will retire from the ATP Tour following the 2015 US Open, is participating in his first Mylan WTT Smash Hits. Ranked as high as No. 7 in singles, he has won six ATP Tour singles titles and 8 doubles titles during his career. Fish captured the silver medal in singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is also a pro ambassador for Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization designed to foster inclusive sports communities.
Longtime friends King and John first brought together the music and tennis worlds for this event in 1993 and have served as the event coaches and co-hosts ever since. Since 1993, Mylan WTT Smash Hits has raised more than $13 million for EJAF and various local AIDS charities throughout the United States. This is the first time in the event’s 23-year history that it will be staged in Las Vegas.
The evening begins with a pre-match VIP Reception and Auction at 5 p.m. at Caesars Palace, with tennis action set for 7 p.m. Special VIP ticket packages, including VIP courtside seating and admission to the VIP Reception and Auction, will also be available for $500. John, King and all players will participate in the pre-match live auction, which will include an Elton John signed piano bench and King’s Wimbledon tickets, among other items. To buy VIP Reception ticket packages or for more information, call AFAN at (702) 383-8081.
Captained by King and John, the players will form two teams and play a Mylan WTT match featuring singles and doubles action. The music legend is expected to participate in a celebrity doubles match to open the event. The overall series is tied 11-11 between Team Elton and Team Billie Jean. Team Billie Jean won the 2014 event in London with a 22-16 victory.
Official event sponsors include title sponsor Mylan and host sponsor Caesars Palace. Ryan Wolfington and USTA Nevada are promotional partners of Mylan WTT Smash Hits. Additional sponsors and partners include Adecco, Aon Hewitt, BICP, Cognizant, Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, DecoTurf, Forevermark, GEICO, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, KPMG, Marty Hennessy Inspiring Children Foundation and Wilson.
For more information on Mylan WTT Smash Hits, visit www.WTTSmashHits.com.
For more information on the Elton John AIDS Foundation, visit www.EJAF.org.
2015 Mylan WTT Smash Hits – Organizations & Charities
About Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF): At EJAF, we believe that AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives. Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993. Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than $321 million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Join us in speaking out, taking action, and contributing to our efforts to achieve a world without AIDS. For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.
About Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN): Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) provides support and advocacy for adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in southern Nevada. AFAN works to reduce HIV infection through prevention education to eliminate fear, prejudice and the stigma associated with the disease. AFAN is committed to a system that nurtures personal growth and dignity of persons served, which is emphasized during orientation, ongoing staff trainings and the culture of our organization. For more information about AFAN, please visit www.afanlv.org.
About Mylan: Mylan is a global pharmaceutical company committed to setting new standards in health care. Working together around the world to provide 7 billion people access to high quality medicine, we innovate to satisfy unmet needs; make reliability and service excellence a habit; do what's right, not what's easy; and impact the future through passionate global leadership. We offer a growing portfolio of more than 1,200 generic pharmaceuticals and several brand medications. In addition, we offer a wide range of antiretroviral therapies, upon which approximately 40% of HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries depend. We also operate one of the largest active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers and currently market products in approximately 140 countries and territories. Our workforce of more than 20,000 people is dedicated to improving the customer experience and increasing pharmaceutical access to consumers around the world. www.Mylan.com
About Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT): Mylan World TeamTennis showcases both the best in professional and recreational team tennis with the innovative team format co-founded by Billie Jean King in the 1970s. Mylan World TeamTennis features the best in professional team tennis competing for the King Trophy, the league’s championship trophy which is named after King. In July 2015, Mylan WTT became only the fifth major professional team sports league in the U.S. to reach the 40th season milestone. On the recreational side of the sport, the Mylan WTT Recreational League also operates team leagues and events. For more information, visit www.WTT.com.
About Caesars Palace: World-renowned Las Vegas hotel and casino, Caesars Palace features 3,960 hotel guest rooms and suites, including the 181-room Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace and Forbes Star Award-winning The Laurel Collection by Caesars Palace. The 85-acre resort offers 25 diverse dining options including the award-winning Bacchanal Buffet, as well as celebrity chef-branded restaurants by Gordon Ramsay, Bobby Flay, Nobu Matsuhisa, Guy Savoy, and Searsucker Las Vegas, the restaurant from “Top Chef” finalist Brian Malarkey. The resort also features nearly 130,000 square-feet of casino space, a five-acre Garden of the Gods pool oasis, the luxurious Qua Baths & Spa and the new 75,000 square-foot OMNIA Nightclub. The 4,300-seat Colosseum, Billboard Magazine’s Venue of the Decade, spotlights world-class entertainers including Celine Dion, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Reba, Brooks & Dunn, Mariah Carey and Jerry Seinfeld. The Forum Shops at Caesars showcases more than 160 boutiques and restaurants. For more information, please visit www.caesarspalace.com. Find Caesars Palace on Facebook and follow on Twitter
There are no comments
Please login to post comments