In the latest crossover between sports and esports, tennis stars, celebrities, and internet personalities teamed up to play in the Stay At Home Slam, an online charity tournament featuring Nintendo‘s Mario Tennis Aces.
Organized by Facebook Gaming and management company IMG, the one-day event took place yesterday and featured eight of the biggest names in tennis and show business paired together to play doubles.
The full list of teams:
- Serena Williams and Gigi Hadid
- Venus Williams and DeAndre Hopkins
- Madison Keys and Henry “Seal” Samuel
- Taylor Fritz and Addison Rae
- Maria Sharapova and Karlie Kloss
- Kevin Anderson and Ryan Tannehill
- Kei Nishikori and Steve Aoki
- Naomi Osaka and Hailey Bieber
Legendary American player, John McEnroe, and YouTuber Justine “iJustine” Ezarik provided commentary on the side.
- Football live events are jumping onto the esports scene amidst COVID-19 interruptions
- Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, and Trae Young will headline an NBA’s players-only 2K tournament
The final was a thrilling match between duos Fritz-Rae and Nishikori-Aoki. Despite being a close game, some amazing aces saw Fritz’s Boo and Rae’s Peach close out the tournament with a 6-4 score.
“Oh man, I was more nervous there than any of my real tennis matches honestly,” said Fritz after winning the tournament. “This was so much fun. Addison absolutely carried the team.”
Fritz and Rae will be sharing their grand prize of US$1 million to their chosen charity, No Kid Hungry, which helps feed starving children around the U.S.
The full Stay At Home Slam tournament from semifinals to the final can be viewed on the Facebook Gaming page.
Similar to this slam, other fundraisers we’re also held online to promote physical distancing and help those who have been affected by the global disease COVID-19.
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