Following the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the tennis community has been taking numerous steps to help Ukraine get through this tough time. One such effort was seen at the recently concluded Billie Jean King Cup tie between USA and Ukraine. Held in Asheville, USA, the tie raised a large number of donations to contribute towards the ‘Tennis Plays for Peace’ initiative.
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The tennis community contributes to the Ukraine crisis
The third-seeded USA played Ukraine on 15th-16th April. The intense tie ended with the USA winning the hard-fought battle 3-2. During the tie, players of both the teams produced some scintillating tennis to entertain the fans.
The US-Ukraine Billie Jean King Cup tie also was successful to raise massive donations for humanitarian relief efforts. As per a note released by the Billie Jean King Cup, a total of $225,000 was raised as donations over the tennis-packed weekend.
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The donation comes as a part of the recently launched ‘Tennis Plays for Peace’ initiative. Launched in March 2022, the initiative is an effort by the 7 governing bodies of tennis (ATP, WTA, ITF, Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open) to come up as one and support Ukraine. The initiative currently aims at raising more than $1 million. As per the initiative amount, the raised amount will be given to the Global Giving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.
Important note from the USTA regarding this weekend's tie… 🙌🇺🇦 https://t.co/ncCXgB5drJ pic.twitter.com/x6IWJ4yCnJ
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) April 16, 2022
Dissecting the donations, former doubles partners Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss donated a whopping $50,000 towards the Ukraine relief fund. Apart from the two legends, banking group BNP Paribas, which also happens to be one of the major sponsors of the event, also announced a donation of $50,000.
Following the footsteps, the United States Tennis Association also announced to donate 10% of ticket proceeds towards the cause. Apart from these, a number of other contributors also came forward to do their bit for the crisis-hit country.
Visiting the Billie Jean King Cup
The US team re-wrote history by outplaying Ukraine to reach the Finals of the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup. However, even though the US won the tie, the Ukrainian team made sure to give a tough time to their opponents. The first day started with the USA winning both the singles ties.
However, the tables turned on day two when Ukraine made a comeback winning the reverse singles. However, going into the doubles, it was the US who came out victorious in a hard-fought battle. The final score of the tie read 3-2 in favor of the US.
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Written by
Edited by
Niranjan Deodhar