Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul, two of the top American professional tennis players, will play in a special charity tennis exhibition Thursday, December 9 at 5 pm at The Boulevard Tennis Club in Vero Beach, Florida.
The event, that will feature a question-and-answer session with both pros followed by the exhibition match, will benefit the Sally Wilkey Foundation, the Vero Beach charitable foundation that provides tennis instruction and financial assistance to in-need children in the Vero Beach area.
The event was organized by Vero Beach’s Gary Kitchell, the well-known sports physical therapist, who has worked with Opelka as well as three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe among others. Kitchell will serve as the emcee for the question and answer session as well as the chair umpire for the exhibition match.
“It will be one of the most exciting nights of tennis ever in Vero Beach with Reilly and Tommy, two of best players in the world, showcasing their talents at The Boulevard for a great cause,” said Christophe Delavaut, the Director of Tennis and co-owner of The Boulevard.“We are very thankful to Gary Kitchell, one of your most charismatic and outgoing members, for being the driving force for this top-flight night of tennis entertainment. We applaud Gary’s dedication and service to the sport of tennis and to his current and future efforts to give back to the sport to those who are less fortunate.”
Opelka just completed a breakthrough year on the ATP Tour, reaching the Masters 1000 event in Toronto, defeating French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas before falling to eventual U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the final. He also reached the semifinals of the Italian Championships and the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Standing six-foot 11 inches tall, Opelka is one of the tallest players to ever play pro tennis and is also one of the fast servers in the sports history with his 140 mph-plus delivery.
Paul is fresh off winning his first ATP singles title at the Stockholm Open in Sweden, defeating former world No. 1 Andy Murray en route. He represented the United States at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer and was a member of the 2020 U.S. Davis Cup team. His best appearance at a Grand Slam tournament came when he reached the third round of the 2020 Australian Open.
Tickets can be purchased for $75 at www.VeroBeachTennisTickets.com. Tickets will cost $90 after December 6. Seating will be limited to about 150 seats in the Boulevard bleacher seating area.
The Boulevard Tennis Club is the leading tennis in Vero Beach and also the home of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit event held in April.
