Some of the biggest names in tennis joined the U.S. Open in a special Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition event to raise both awareness and humanitarian aid for Ukraine yesterday, which was also Ukrainian Independence Day.
Among the heavy hitters helping to raise money were Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff, John McEnroe, and World No.1 Iga Światek, who hails from Ukraine’s neighbouring Poland.
— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) August 25, 2022
“You know, I’m pretty happy that we are united and that we as public persons and athletes are doing so much. For sure, the event (to raise humanitarian aid) that I did in Poland was a great experience for me. That was the first event that gained so much attention in tennis in Poland. So, I’m pretty happy that we raised so much money for kids in Ukraine. Mostly because their lives have changed. And it’s right next to my country, so it was pretty emotional. And I’m pretty happy that I can use my sport that way and that we’re doing this today. It’s great,” World No.1 Iga Świątek said.
“A very tough couple of years, in terms of the pandemic, now with the war. So yeah, excited to be back, of course, always a pleasure to play in New York and front of probably the best crowd in the world,” World No.3 Rafael Nadal said.
“I just want to say, for this event, you know, we’re all a fraternity, the tennis players. We’re pulling for each other. Obviously, we all want peace and hopefully, this will do something towards helping the situation over in Ukraine. Thank you,” former World No.1 John McEnroe added.