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Serena, NFL players to compete in charity virtual tennis event

Serena, NFL players to compete in charity virtual tennis event

Field Level Media

Tennis stars Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Naomi Osaka plus NFL players DeAndre Hopkins and Ryan Tannehill are among the celebrities who will participate in a virtual charity tennis tournament.


The “Stay at Home Slam” will be streamed Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on Facebook Gaming and on the tennis Facebook page of the company coordinating the tournament, IMG.


Two-person teams will compete using the Mario Tennis Aces game on Nintendo Switch.


Each team will be allotted $25,000 to donate of a charity of its choosing, with the championship duo getting another $1 million for charity.


Leo Olebe, the global director of games partnerships for Facebook Gaming, said, according to Deadline.com, “Gaming’s superpower has always been bringing people together and right now that’s the case more than ever. Blending that superpower with pro athletes and epic entertainment to raise money for COVID-19 relief and research efforts is a natural fit that we’re proud to be a part of.”


The competing teams will be:


Serena Williams and model Gigi Hadid


Naomi Osaka and model Hailey Bieber


Venus Williams and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins


Maria Sharapova and model Karlie Kloss


Kei Nishikori and DJ Steve Aoki


Madison Keys and musician Seal


Taylor Fritz and TikTok personality Addison Rae


Kevin Anderson and Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill


The commentary team will be International Tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe and YouTube personality Justine “iJustine” Ezarik.