Tennis couple Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils played doubles in the recent Stars of the Open exhibition for Ukraine, a charity event held at the US Open venue before the Slam.
The stars of the WTA and ATP Tours joined forces on Wednesday night, August 23, in an effort to raise money for relief efforts in Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict over Russia’s February 2022 invasion of the country.
The event took place at Louis Armstrong Stadium and featured Ukrainian player Svitolina and her French husband Monfils, along with the likes of Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini and Christopher Eubanks. Former players John McEnroe and Gabriela Sabatini were also present.
The former world No. 3 Svitolina joined her husband Monfils, former world No. 6, for that event. The pair played against the team of Brady and Eubanks, with one Instagram user sharing a clip of the pair with the caption “Monfils family is playing for [Ukraine – alluded to with blue and yellow love heart emojis, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.]”
Tennis Letter shared the video on Twitter with the following caption:
“Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils played doubles for the Stars of the Open exhibition for Ukraine last night.
Don’t mess with the Monfils family on a mission,” followed by blue and yellow love heart emojis.
Another highlight of the night was watching the world No. 3 Pegula pairs with 64-year-old tennis star McEnroe to play against Berrettini and Sabatini in a mixed doubles match, giving fans an exciting display of different generations of tennis working together.
In total, the event raised $320,000 for Ukraine in front of a large crowd.
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