Nassau, Bahamas - The Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational got underway on December 3rd as visiting pro players enjoyed an evening of food and entertainment at The Balmoral.
Mark Knowles introduced the visiting pros to the sponsors of his charity event, and an auction took place whereupon sponsors bid on each of the tennis teams who will be on the courts at Atlantis competing Friday afternoon, December 4th in the Pro/Am.
Photos: Ashley Henderson
It all leads up to the big public exhibition on Saturday, December 5th where persons can come out and watch some great tennis and meet the many pros on island.
Visiting pros that will be playing along with Bahamian tennis star Mark Knowles are
Benjamin Becker, Robert Kendrick,
Marvin Rolle, Don Johnson, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Martin Damm, Olga Savchukand Jared Palmer.
On Saturday at 4.30pm the Junior Players Interactive
with the Pros will take place.
Once again, the
proceeds of the event will go
to aid local children’s charities such as The Cancer Society, the Sassoon
(Bahamas) Foundation for Pediatric Heart Care, The Special Olympics, The
Association for the Physically Disabled, The Chance Foundation and the Mark
Knowles Tennis Scholarship Fund.
To date
over $400,000 has been distributed to various charities. The aim this year is to increase total donations to $500,000. The major sponsors to date include: Atlantis Resort & Casino, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch Private Bank & Trust;
Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd; Serenity Point, Abaco; The Balmoral; The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism; American Airlines;
The Bank of the Bahamas; Everkey Global Fund;
Templeton Global Advisors; Odyssey Aviation; H3O; TheBahamasWeekly.com; and The Ministry of Youth Sports & Culture.
About the Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational: The
Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational is a Charity Event hosted by
Mark. It was first held in 2001. The event is held in December at the
National Tennis Centre in Nassau (New Providence), Bahamas. The purpose
of the event is to raise money for various charities, such as The
Sassoon Pediatric Heart Foundation, The Cancer Society, The Association
of the Physically Disabled, The Childrens Emergency Hospital, The Boy
Scouts of Bahamas, The Special Olympics and scholarships for promising
junior tennis players. Visit: www.markknowlestennis.com
The Bahamas Weekly wishes to thank SkyBahamas Airlines
