As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to test healthcare systems and communities everywhere, WTA stars around the world have been stepping up to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus.
In their support, the WTA and its philanthropic arm WTA Charities announced the launch of WTA 4 Love, a campaign to assist local communities and shed light on the real-world efforts of the tennis family.
Read more: WTA Charities launches WTA 4 Love in response to COVID-19 pandemic
In Spain, the retiring Carla Suárez Navarro checked in with a Spanish food bank in her native Gran Canaria and volunteered her time to help keep the shelves stocked.
“I was delighted to do my part as a volunteer in Las Palmas,” Suárez Navarro shared on Twitter, along with some photos of her shift.
Los Bancos de Alimentos de @fesbal_org ayudan a muchas personas. Encantada de poner mi granito como voluntaria en Las Palmas. 🤲🏻🍛
— Carla Suárez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava) April 21, 2020
Pueden aportar aquí:
Las Palmas ES48 2100 1766 4302 0027 2506
Nacional ES87 2038 2465 1460 0024 1398 pic.twitter.com/rFLozkTz4u
The Spaniard had previously posted a call to action on her social media in support of the food banks. “The main food collection campaigns have been suspended and some products are becoming scarce. We need to come together,” she said.
Using her own funds, Vania King organized a direct-relief initiative to provide financial aid to people and families impacted by the pandemic.
Hoping everyone is staying safe and healthy, we will get through this together! I’m giving away $500 to five people in need, please send an email to servinguphope@yahoo.com and explain how the money can help. Decisions will be made at the end of the month. ❤️🌎 #payitforward #wta pic.twitter.com/qYAWXmVrUf
— Vania King (@queen_v21) March 20, 2020
Her efforts were supported by the tennis family including WTA Charities, as well as tennis emcee and presenter Andrew Krasny. As a result, her initiative was able to reach 20 people - up from King’s original five.
King shared some photos of those 20 recipients on her social media in her latest charity update:
We received many emails about the coronavirus relief donation & it was very hard to choose as we know things are so tough right now. We increased the # of people supported to 20. Here’s a few photos sent in by some of the recipients. pic.twitter.com/oZqzMDdoeJ
— Vania King (@queen_v21) April 19, 2020
WTA Legend Iva Majoli teamed up with her fellow Croatian athletes to launch “Athletes For Zagreb”, raising funds in the hopes of helping their capital city of Zagreb, hit hard by an earthquake in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Read more: Majoli leads 'Athletes For Zagreb'
“I am reaching out to you to ask for support to my city Zagreb," Majoli posted on Instagram last week.
"Zagreb was struck by a devastating series of earthquakes that left numerous people injured, many people lost their homes, the city centre which represents a historical and cultural heritage has suffered serious damage, and parts of our hospitals and medical facilities that are of crucial necessity now that we are dealing with a pandemic, have been left in ruins.”
Amid the United Kingdom’s lockdown, tennis coach Judy Murray continued to encourage kids to give tennis a try - without leaving home. The mother of two Grand Slam champions, Murray heads up the Miss-Hits initiative and shared some tips for indoor drills and skill-building activities.
Read more: 'Make it fun!' - Judy Murray's tips to turn kids on to tennis during lockdown
"The key for anyone working with kids in sport is to keep the kids engaged in the coaching lesson because we want them to stay in our sport,” Murray told Tennis365. “That means the challenges we set them need to be doable and challenging in equal measure and hopefully we find that balance."
CAN YOU DO the JMF 13 step head-to-toe racket challenge?
— Judy Murray Foundation (@JudyMurrayFdn) April 13, 2020
Film urself completing it, post using #headtoechallenge + pass on to 3 other members of the Scottish tennis community. I nominate @KrisSoutar @JuliegCoaching @abtennisacademy. A Murray goody bag for fastest clip posted. pic.twitter.com/HRwwrMTUp6
Meanwhile Dayana Yastremska created a unique way to get the word out about how to protect against the novel coronavirus: an animated PSA starring the player herself.
Acting together and staying healthy! Raise awareness, make a repost! https://t.co/s3tFHXtDWn#DiyaFoundation #WTA #DayanaYastremska #coronavirus #tennis
— Dayana Yastremska (@D_Yastremska) April 15, 2020
“This cartoon was created by our team…” Yastremska said. “The whole project took eight days. We were working fast, as it was very important to keep this project relevant. People need to understand how dangerous this virus is."
As part of WTA 4 Love, WTA Charities is now a listed charitable entity on Amazon Smiles, where customers can select WTA Charities to receive a percentage of their total purchase amount. Currently available only in the United States, individuals can participate by signing up at smile.amazon.com and setting WTA Charities as the organization to receive the donation.
To follow the ‘WTA 4 Love’ campaign, click here.