Hit for Haiti Creates a Great Memory

There are several really good things happening at this year’s Australian Open and while I am following the matches and excited to make my first visit to Melbourne since 2002, I am so proud of how the tennis community stepped up with the Roger Federer-organized Hit for Haiti event held last weekend.

With the help of Steve Wood, Craig Tiley and everyone at Tennis Australia and the support of the players – especially Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, and Australians Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic – Roger rallied the tennis community and did a wonderful thing for the people in Haiti.

We did our own small part from the WTT headquarters in New York City by sending boxes of clothing to the Kids in Distressed Situations' (K.I.D.S.) Haitian Relief Fund and by setting up a special WTT Haitian Relief page on our website. I would like to thank my WTT associates for leading on this effort.

It is moments like this that show us that tennis is so much more than hitting a ball.  For many of us, tennis is not only a big part of our own lives, it has given us a platform to make a difference in the lives of others.   Congratulations to Roger, Tennis Australia and all of the players, for creating a wonderful memory to open the 2010 season.

Please join me in keeping those who need us most in our hearts and in our minds.

There is no better place to kick off the 35th season of World TeamTennis than at the first major of the year. A special Australia versus Internationals Legends Invitational match will be played using the World TeamTennis format at the Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena on January 27. In all, there have been 74 Australians who have played WTT thus far, and I’m excited to reunite with several of them over the next couple of weeks.

Until I return from Down Under...

Go for It!