With the men and women’s basketball teams heading south for the Pacific-10 Conference tournaments this week, Matthew Knight Arena will showcase some of the biggest names in the professional tennis circuits Tuesday night.
Professional tennis players Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams are scheduled to appear in the “Nike Clash of the Champions” exhibition charity event, which is set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
Sharapova and Azarenka will get the competition started with a singles set, followed by a mixed doubles set and then a men’s singles set between Nadal and Federer, currently the two top-ranked players in the world.
Williams will not be participating, however, as she continues to recover from a foot injury and was instructed by her medical advisors to withdraw from the exhibition. Williams will be on hand for the free USTA Pacific Northwest Family Tennis Festival, which is scheduled from 3-4:30 p.m. on the Matthew Knight Arena basketball practice courts located on the east side of the building, before to the start of the women’s singles match.
“I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to play at the Nike Clash of the Champions as I had anticipated,” Williams said in a press release late last month. “I’m thrilled, however, to still be able to participate in the Family Tennis Festival and in the exhibition as a referee during the mixed doubles. This is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime event and I’m honored to be able to share my love of tennis with Pacific Northwest fans and to thank Nike tennis for all their continuous support.”
In her place, Azarenka, a 21-year-old up-and-coming star from Belarus, will join three of the world’s elite tennis players for this sold-out event. Currently ranked ninth on the world tour, Azarenka is a five-time winner on the pro tennis tour, and reached the quarterfinals at the 2011 Australian Open. Sharapova is currently No. 18 in the world and hasn’t won a grand slam since the 2008 Australian Open.
Federer holds the men’s record with 16 grand slam titles to his credit, including the 2010 Australian Open, while Nadal added the 2010 French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open to his nine career grand slam victories.
“We are extremely excited to host some of the biggest names in professional tennis in Matthew Knight Arena,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said in a press release. “Our unique partnership with Nike has allowed us to attract this one-of-a-kind event to the University of Oregon and the Eugene-Springfield community.”
A portion of the proceeds from Tuesday night’s event will go to each of the four athletes’ charitable foundations.
Doors open to the public not interested in attending the Family Tennis Festival at 3:30 p.m., and current Oregon tennis players and coaches will be collaborating with participants at the festival and will also play on center court from 4 to 5 p.m.
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