Facebook's pro-am 'Mario Tennis' tourney includes the Williams sisters
Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori are also taking part in the charity event.
Tennis superstars are teaming up with celebrity partners for a charity doubles tournament with a difference. They'll all be participating remotely, as the Stay at Home Slam will take place in Mario Tennis Aces. Each team will receive $25,000 to donate to charity, and the winning pair will snag an extra $1 million to give to their chosen cause.
You'll see the likes of Serena Williams teaming with Gigi Hadid, Naomi Osaka partnering with Hailey Bieber and Maria Sharapova joining forces with Karlie Kloss. The other pairings are Venus Williams and DeAndre Hopkins; Kei Nishikori and Steve Aoki; Madison Keys and Seal; Taylor Fritz and Addison Rae; and Kevin Anderson and Ryan Tannehill.
Tennis icon John McEnroe and YouTube star iJustine (Justine Ezarik) will provide commentary. You'll also see live video of the competitors as they battle for victory in the guise of Mario, Peach and other characters. It’s yet another example of athletes turning to virtual versions of their sports (albeit a slightly less realistic one in this case) to scratch their competitive itch while we’re all sheltering in place.
Facebook Gaming teamed up with IMG (a talent management company) to put on the tournament, which gets underway at 4 PM ET this Sunday. You'll be able to watch it go down on the Facebook Gaming and IMG Tennis Facebook pages.
