The 16th Annual Advanta WTT Smash Hits charity event was held at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center on Sunday. A mix of celebrities and tennis stars—and some who qualify as both—took part in raising money for Elton John’s AIDS Foundation as well as the Atlanta AIDS Partnership.
Sir Elton and women’s tennis legend Billie Jean King hosted the event, which featured Andy Roddick, Anna Kournikova, Martina Navratilova, Jessie Levine, and local rising tennis star Melanie Oudin. The players came to metro Atlanta voluntarily to support the event.
“Martina, Andy, and Anna, I don’t know how many they’ve done between them, but it must be 15, 16, 17”, said Sir Elton. “It’s an amazing thing, as you ask them and they always say yes. These guys are veterans. They should get mucho kudos for that.”
Marietta resident Oudin thrilled the local crowd with superb tennis against world-renowned competition. Friends and family rooted her on during her doubles match against Martina Navratilova and Jessie Levine. She was paired with the world’s No. 8-ranked men’s player, Andy Roddick. After helping to win the mixed doubles match, Oudin, the world’s No. 2 junior player, took on and defeated tennis icon Martina Navratilova in a singles match.
“It was amazing,” said the elated 17-year old. “I mean, I can’t believe I actually just played Martina Navratilova. Just getting to play her was a great experience.”
The crowd seemed to enjoy the experience as well. Andy Roddick joked and teased while dominating the competition and giving the crowd what they came to see – great tennis from first-class players. Roddick, who has now taken part in this event five consecutive years, helped his team with two mixed doubles victories and a singles victory over last minute replacement Jessie Levine. Local pro Donald Young cancelled this past week, sending WTT officials scrambling for a replacement. On his way back to his home in Florida from an event in California, Levine agreed—on Friday no less—to take Young’s place.
Watching the event were local and national celebrities such as recording artist Keith Sweat, television personality Monica Pearson, and politician Mark Taylor.
A VIP auction took place prior to the matches, where such memorabilia as an Elton John concert-used piano bench and a Navratilova tennis ball painting were sold along with an hour of tennis practice with Roddick and tickets to the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. The items brought in over $100,000 for the charities.
This was the second time the Atlanta area has held the charity event. John’s current hometown also hosted the event in 2000, when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi headlined.
An enthusiastic and star-struck crowd filled the Convocation Center and was treated to some awe-inspiring tennis. Roddick and Navratilova were especially impressive, as Roddick showed off his power game while Navartilova displayed the skill set that dominated the women’s game for so many years.
Roddick delighted the crowd not only with his top-notch play, but also with his wit. While playing with Oudin, the tennis superstar mishit a volley and apologized to his young teammate, exclaiming, “I’m sorry Melanie!” as the crowd roared with laughter.
Sir Elton’s team won the match 23-16. The score comes from the number of games each team won. John’s squad consisted of Roddick, Oudin and Kournikova, while King’s included Navratilova and Levine. After 16 years of the event, King and John have each won eight events as coaches.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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