Tennis legend Billie Jean King and music superstar Sir Elton John are teaming up for their annual charity event -- the 17th annual WTT Smash Hits on December 8, 2009, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge. Billie Jean King and Elton John will each captain a team and be will joined by tennis champions Andy Roddick, Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Tommy Haas, Lindsay Davenport, Liezel Huber, Jan-Michael Gambill, Chanda Rubin and Devin Britton who will form two teams and play the World TeamTennis format. Check out the official teams. John will also participate in a celebrity doubles match to open the event.
This year’s event, presented by the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation and hosted by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, will benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation and AIDS charities serving the Greater Baton Rouge area. Smash Hits has raised more than $9 million for EJAF and various local AIDS charities since 1993.
TEAMS: Two teams of tennis stars will be coached by Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King.
TEAM ELTON: Sir Elton John (coach); Jan-Michael Gambill, Tommy Haas, Anna Kournikova, Serena Williams
TEAM BILLIE JEAN: Billie Jean King (coach); Devin Britton, Lindsay Davenport, Liezel Huber, Andy Roddick, Chanda Rubin
SCHEDULE OF PLAY:
Pro-Celebrity match: Evening begins at 7 p.m. with a special celebrity match featuring Elton John/Serena Williams vs. Andy Roddick/Anna Kournikova. (Note: Pro-Celebrity set does not count toward total scores)
Order of Play:
Mixed Doubles: Tommy Haas/Serena Williams (Team Elton) vs. Andy Roddick/Chanda Rubin (Team Billie Jean)
Women’s Doubles: Serena Williams/Anna Kournikova (Team Elton) vs. Liezel Huber/Lindsay Davenport (Team Billie Jean)
Men’s Doubles: Tommy Haas/Jan-Michael Gambill (Team Elton) vs. Andy Roddick/Devin Britton (Team Billie Jean)
Men’s Singles: Tommy Haas (Team Elton) vs. Andy Roddick (Team Billie Jean)
LIVE STREAMING ON WTT.COM FOR SMASH HITS : Watch live as some of the biggest names in tennis team up with Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King for a great cause. Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Anna Kournikova, Tommy Haas and Lindsay Davenport are a few of the stars set for WTT Smash Hits in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7 pm Central. Fans can watch the event live online at
www.WTT.com/livestream. Mary Carillo and Harry Cicma will be in the booth and Jimmy Frederick of Baton Rouge’s Cox 4 will be the sideline reporter for both the television broadcast and live streaming event.
The charity event raises funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Baton Rouge area AIDS charities. The lineup of players, which also includes Liezel Huber, Jan-Michael Gambill, Chanda Rubin and Devin Britton, will form two teams coached by John and King, and play the World TeamTennis format. For more information, visit
www.WTT.com/SmashHits.
The event will air locally on Cox 4 Baton Rouge/Lafayette, Cox Sports Television (CST Louisiana), Cox 10 New Orleans (check local listings for dates/times), and also airs on Tennis Channel on the following dates:
12/19/2009 at 7:00 p.m.; 12/20/2009 at 9:00 a.m.; 1/5/2010 at 9:00 p.m. (all times Eastern).