Mark Knowles Continues Charitable Cause; Raises $100,000

Written by: Staff on 16th December 2012

Mark Knowles Continues Charitable Cause; Raises $100,000

epa01894049 Andy Roddick of the USA and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas pose with their second place trophy after their China Open men's final match against opponents Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of the USA in Beijing, China, 11 October 2009. EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL |

(Courtesy of the ATP: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/Charity/Knowles-Charity-Event-Raises-$100K.aspx)

For the 12th straight year, Mark Knowles delivered a weekend of tennis to remember in his home country.

The recently retired 41-year-old welcomed Lindsay Davenport and Sam Querrey among others to the Atlantis, Paradise Island to help raise money for local children’s charities at the Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational (MKCTI) in the Bahamas. The proceeds brought in this year topped $100,000, bringing total contributions to around $900,000.

“It was another great year at the 12th MKCTI. We raised a lot of money and had great support from our sponsorships,” said Knowles. “We had fantastic players down here, so it’s always special. The impetus behind the event is to raise money for those that are in need, and we were very successful doing that again this year.”

The main beneficiaries include the Sassoon Heart Foundation (Pediatric), the Cancer Society For Pediatric Care, the Association for the Physically Disabled, the Special Olympics, Mark Knowles Tennis scholarships for promising junior tennis players and numerous additional children’s charities.

“It’s always great to come here,” said Sabine Lisicki. “I’ve known Mark for quite a few years and it’s been a lot of fun to play. The fact that it helps kids makes me always want to come here to help. It’s a nice place.”

After enjoying a cocktail reception sponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Atlantis at Fathoms on 6 December, diamond and platinum sponsors had the opportunity to team up with the stars in the popular Pro-Am the following day.

Each team was guaranteed two matches in the fun, but competitive tournament with bragging rights on the line. Knowles and Miles Nadal, CEO of MDC Partners, defeated Lisicki and her partner David Demuth for the title, while Brent Haygarth teamed up with Betsy Wannakuwatte to win the consolation bracket over Querrey and Jeremy Stuby.

“The Pro-Am was great,” Querrey said. “This is my first time down here and we had a good time. It’s something I really enjoyed and I’m hoping to come back again next year.”

The players, event organisers and sponsors reunited in the evening for a special dinner at the Ripples Deck, featuring a gourmet buffet and live and silent auctions. The items on offer included signed racquets from Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, a dual photograph signed by Roger Federer and Jack Nicklaus and the dress Serena Williams wore when she won this year’s US Open final. The highest-selling item was a US Open poster signed by a number of top players, which sold for $6,000.

Topics: American tennis news, Bahamas tennis news, Mark Knowles, Sports, tennis charity