Racquets for Relief

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alison S. Kim
akim@atptennis.com

01/12/05 - The world’s highest-ranked tennis stars have come together to build a unique piece of tennis memorabilia that will be auctioned on ATPtennis.com to benefit UNICEF’s tsunami relief effort.

World No. 1 Roger Federer, No. 2 Andy Roddick and No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt, who between them have held the year-end World No. 1 ranking the past four years, have each donated autographed match racquets that have been used in the heat of battle. The Wilson, Babolat and Yonex racquets used and autographed by Federer, Roddick and Hewitt respectively will be mounted together in one framed presentation case. The item will be accompanied by an ATP letter of authenticity.
Bidding on this unique piece of tennis memorabilia opened earlier today. Bidding closes on Friday, January 28 (5 p.m EDT in Australia, 6 a.m. GMT in Europe and 1 a.m. ET in the USA).Tennis fans can place their bids at ATPtennis.com. The item had an opening bid of AUD$10,000 (USD$ 7,560, 5,800 Euro). A currency converter on the site will allow for easy conversion of AUD to USD, Euro and other required currencies.

Brad Drewett, ATP Managing Director, International Region, said: “To have the autographed match racquets of the world’s top three players auctioned as one lot is truly a unique piece of tennis memorabilia. The ATP and its players and tournaments have implemented a number of fundraising initiatives to benefit tsunami victims and this auction will be another meaningful contribution to UNICEF’s relief effort.” IMG eCommerce will host and administer the auction site, waiving its usual fee.

Meanwhile, in further support of the tsunami relief efforts abroad, Hewitt announced on Tuesday that he will auction personal RDX500 Yonex frames to the highest bidder in the stands prior to each of his matches at the ATP event in Sydney this week and throughout the upcoming Australian Open.

After Hewitt's first round win over Karol Beck at the Medibank International, the first racquet was sold for AUD5,000, with Hewitt then matching the bid to raise AUD10,000 on the first day.

"The tsunami has touched many peoples lives throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the world", said Hewitt, "but no one more than the children of the countries which were impacted by this natural disaster." Hewitt, the Australian number one, added his encouragement, "UNICEF is working to protect and help those children who may have been separated from their families or orphaned as a result of the tsunami and each of us should do as much as we can to support their ongoing efforts."

Beginning on Wednesday, Hewitt will also auction three frames daily on www.yonex.com.au.

The ATP community reacted quickly to support relief efforts to areas affected by the tsunami in Southern Asia, and that effort will continue in the weeks ahead. Shortly after the disaster, the ATP and its premium partner Mercedes-Benz pledged USD $40,000 to the relief efforts. A charity auction at the Chennai Open raised $23,000 Chief Minister Relief funds, set up by the local State Government of Tamil Nadu.

Many players donated prize money to the relief effort, including Chennai champion Carlos Moya, who gave his winner’s check. ATP tournaments in Australia also are participating in “Gold Coin Day,” a cooperative effort between ATP, UNICEF, Tennis Australia, ITF, and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

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