The former first lady of the USA, Melania Trump, had thought of a plan to build a tennis pavilion on the White House’s premises in 2018. However, the planning and approval led to its formation only in 2020.

At that time, the entire world was facing the brunt of the pandemic. Consequently, the construction of the tennis pavilion drew criticism from people in various parts of the US. Melania Trump had gotten it constructed for the utilization of the future first families.

People criticized Melania Trump for the construction of a tennis pavilion in 2020

Melania Trump had drawn the plans for the construction of the pavilion in early 2018. The Commission of the Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission gave their approval for its construction in 2019. The former President of the United States, Donald Trump, helped break ground for the project in October 2019.

Private donations funded the project, though they did not disclose the actual amount. The announcement of the inauguration of the tennis pavilion was poorly scheduled, as the country was grappling with rising COVID-19 cases at the time.

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The pavilion lies on the south grounds of the White House.

Players who helped during the pandemic

The pandemic had shaken the world to its core. Even after vaccination, there was a rise in cases and the death toll was extremely high. During such difficult times, many tennis players had stepped up to help in any way they can; they donated or contributed in one form or other to help the citizens.

Serena Williams had donated more than four million masks to underserved schools. Roger Federer too donated one million Swiss Francs to help vulnerable families during the pandemic. While Rafael Nadal himself donated and had urged his nation’s athletes to raise money for COVID-19 relief.

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With collective efforts and the cooperation of the people, the world is in a safer place. Since then, tennis has resumed, and recently at Wimbledon, we saw a large audience coming to enjoy the action like the good old days.