US Open revamps mixed doubles format, adds $1 million prize to incentivize "biggest names in the sport"

NBA star Jimmy Butler has dressed just like a member of the ball crew at the U.S. Open and picked up a racket to play alongside Frances Tiafoe during a charity event that raised $320,000 for humanitarian relief in Ukraine

ByAssociated Press

Published Aug 24, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) —NBA star Jimmy Butler took a swing at another sport Wednesday night, dressing just like a member of the ball crew at the U.S. Open to perform those duties and picking up a racket to play with Frances Tiafoe, Carlos Alcaraz and Sebastián Yatra at a charity event that raised $320,000 for humanitarian relief in Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the war there continues.

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Jimmy Butler just showed the world how to beat Carlos Alcaraz 👀 pic.twitter.com/k8WJYlY5Xh
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 23, 2023

Butler, who led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals last season before losing to the Denver Nuggets, is not new to tennis and is friends with 2022 French Open runner-up Coco Gauff.

He teamed with Tiafoe, a semifinalist at last year's U.S. Open, in doubles against defending champion Alcaraz and Grammy winner Yatra.

Other just-for-fun exhibitions at Stars of the Open in Louis Armstrong Stadium included John McEnroe, Gabriela Sabatini, Jessica Pegula, Matteo Berrettini, Elena Svitolina, Gael Monfils, Chris Eubanks and Jennifer Brady.

The U.S. Open begins Monday.