The US Tennis Association (USTA) has revealed that 10% of the revenue from ticket sales for the Billie Jean King Cup matches between the US and Ukraine will be donated to a relief fund following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Local sponsors of the tournament, previously known as the Fed Cup, are also set to donate towards relief efforts in the country.
The Billie Jean King Cup, which was renamed in 2020 to honour the 39-time grand slam champion Billie Jean King, is a women’s team competition.
The best-of-five match series, which makes up the qualifiers, is due to be held from April 15-16 in Asheville, North Carolina and will take place on an indoor hard court. The seven winning countries from the qualifiers will then join the teams that have already qualified for the 2022 finals – Australia, Belgium, Slovakia and Switzerland.
US players include 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, Jessica Pegula, Shelby Rogers and Desirae Krawczyk.
Up against the US and representing Ukraine will be two-time grand slam semi-finalist Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Katarina Zavarska, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nidiia Kichenok.
Stacey Allaster, USTA chief executive for professional tennis, told the Associated Press that the event will be used “to continue advocating for peace, along with providing aid and support for the people of Ukraine”.
Image: Mario Gogh on Unsplash