Gigi Hadid, Serena Williams & More to Participate in Live Gaming Tournament
Facebook is hosting a virtual tennis tournament featuring celebrities and the sport's biggest stars. Each celeb has been paired with a tennis counterpart, as teams will be going head to head in Mario Tennis Aces for Nintendo Switch.
The likes of Gigi Hadid, Serena Williams, Hailey Bieber, Karlie Kloss, Steve Aoki, and Seal, among others, have been tapped to participate in the live event. The tournament, titled the “Stay at Home Slam,” will be streamed exclusively on Facebook via Facebook Gaming at fb.gg/FacebookGaming and IMG's tennis Facebook page.
Players will be taking part in the virtual challenge from their homes all over the world. Each will in turn receive $25,000 to donate to their charity of choice, with the winner being awarded an additional $1 million in donation.
“It’s been incredible to see the creative ways athletes are using social media to support people during this difficult time,” said Evan Shugerman, Facebook Athlete Partnerships Lead. “We’re excited to be partnering with IMG to contribute to those efforts, which will bring some of the world’s top athletes together on Facebook for an entertaining and impactful competition.”
Tennis icon John McEnroe has been chosen to commentate the matches alongside YouTube personality iJustine. The Mario Tennis Aces tournament will be broadcasted live beginning Sunday, May 3 at 4 p.m. EST.
You can see the doubles partners below.
Serena Williams and Gigi Hadid Naomi Osaka and Hailey Bieber Venus Williams and DeAndre Hopkins Maria Sharapova and Karlie Kloss Kei Nishikori and Steve Aoki Madison Keys and Seal Taylor Fritz and Addison Rae Kevin Anderson and Ryan Tannehill