On Sunday, 26th June, Aceify’s first tennis annual event took place at The Parsons Green Club in London, where tennis celebrities, tennis players, people interested in this sport and influencers gathered to celebrate the start of the famous Wimbledon tournament. This year, a charity auction was held in collaboration with Elina Svitolina to help Ukraine kids and families. For those just starting in the world of tennis, The Wimbledon Championships is a prestigious annual event that constitutes one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. This event attracts famous tennis players worldwide, such as Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gael Monfils, Elina Svitolina and more. Wimbledon 2022 takes place from Monday 27th June to Sunday 10th July 2022 on the grass of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

Special Guests: celebrities in the event

We received special visits from celebrities such as Elina Svitolina, a famous Ukrainian tennis player; Sam Jalloh, an Author, professional Tennis Coach and Motivational speaker from Sierra Leone; and British formers professional tennis players Marcus Willis, John Lloyd and Jamie Delgado. This was my first time being involved in a corporate event in London, and many extraordinary moments happened and want to share them with you, so keep reading because you will get a little taste of our great event.

The beginning: a Good Morning

The event kicked off at 10 am and couldn’t start in a better way. People had the opportunity to learn techniques and skills with ATP and WTA pros at the tennis clinic. The best part? All attendees had the chance to play tennis with ATP and WTA players. It didn’t matter if they were experts or didn’t know about tennis at all. They got the opportunity to play tennis and had fun even if they weren’t good at it. A perfect way to start the event as we all had fun and enjoyed the nice weather that England gifted us on Sunday.

Lunchtime and a story that touched our heart

The event got better with lunchtime. We enjoyed a delicious Three-course lunch full of flavour while we shared and engaged in conversations with the celebrities and all the attendees. We learnt about each other and shared our passion for tennis. On the other hand, we had the opportunity to listen to Sam Jalloh’s emotional story and an interview with John Lloyd while having lunch. Sam Jalloh, author of “How Tennis Saved My Life”, spoke about his life in Sierra Leone before tennis and how this sport changed his life completely. A very inspiring story that touched the hearts of many at the event. After lunch, people got the chance to buy a signed book by him. Definitely a story that everyone should listen to if feeling unmotivated. John Lloyd is a former British professional tennis player married to Chris Evert, the American former world No. 1 tennis player. He was interviewed and talked about his tennis career, Wimbledon and some stories about his personal life.

Charity Auction with Elina Svitolina

In the afternoon, we welcomed a special guest, Elina Svitolina. She joined us for the special moment at the charity auction. Elina Svitolina is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She was the first Ukrainian woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. In 2019, Svitolina created the Elina Svitolina Foundation. The mission of her foundation is to help encourage children through the sport of tennis to learn the values of hard work, self-discipline and the importance of giving 100% every day in life. Now her foundation is helping Ukrainian children who have fled. She auctioned a signed tennis racket and the outfit she wore in winning a medal at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

These are the items auctioned:

A signed tennis racket from Elina Svitolina.
Private dinner at home for eight by Archie’s, the London-based catering company famous for the excellent British cuisine.
VIP tickets to The Monte-Carlo Masters, an annual tennis tournament for male professional players in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France.
Elina Svitolina’s outfit.
Hit with one of the Aceify professional players in London.
Top-class dinner for 10 people with rare wine savouring with François Audouze.

People were too shy to bid at that moment, but a few people asked for more info about the items auctioned afterwards, which was good as we raised a total amount of £15,000 at the event. Worth mentioning that 80% of the donations will go to Elina Svitolina Foundation, and 20% will go to United24, a private charity created by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine. This is good news as we know this money will help Ukraine people during this challenging time for them.

The End

After the charity auction, we all proceeded to take our seats on the benches and the grass with drinks in our hands to enjoy the Marcus Willis vs Toby Martin match. A great game in which we could see how both players were having fun and not taking the game too seriously.

Conclusions

The Aceify Cup Event was a great success! People left the club with smiles on their faces and were satisfied with the programme. They could enjoy many things: interactive activities, celebrities, good food, unlimited drinks, a good cause and lots of fun! I would recommend this event to anyone interested in tennis. It’s not only a place where you can meet new people and make connections but also a place where you will have fun and learn more about tennis. And of course, you will have a great time! The tickets for The Aceify Cup 2023 will be available soon on our website, so you can reserve your slot as soon as it’s available. Our next Aceify Cup Event will be epic, and you can’t miss it!