The Garden party will be Marion Bartoli's coming-out party.
World No. 3 Elina Svitolina and a Wimbledon champion Bartoli, launching her comeback to tennis, will join Venus Williams and Serena Williams playing for a $250,000 champion's prize at Madison Square Garden in March.
More: Australian Open Review Magazine
Tie Break Tens, the new fast-paced short-form tennis competition, announced that Svitolina and Bartoli will compete in the exhibition event on Monday, March 5th. The pair join the Williams sisters as part of the final eight-layer line-up.
Tie Break Tens tournaments are held over one day and involve eight players competing in a knock-out format, with each match consisting of a super tie-break to ten points. Following successful tournaments in London, Vienna, Madrid and Melbourne, the Tie Break Tens all-women event at Madison Square Garden will feature world-class players battling it out to secure the $250,000 winner’s prize and a chance to raise a trophy at the iconic venue.
“The opportunity to play Tie Break Tens with a world class line-up at such an iconic venue is incredibly exciting,” Svitolina said. “Such a fast-paced format is always going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to using my competitive spirit and consistent play to give me the edge.”
Bartoli is the 2013 Wimbledon champion. She captured that title without dropping a set, which has happened only six times in the history of the Wimbledon Championship. Reaching her highest rank of World No. 7 in January 2012, Bartoli won eight WTA singles titles and three doubles titles before retiring from professional tennis in August 2013.
The Tie Break Tens event at Madison Square Garden will be Bartoli's first competition since coming out of retirement in December 2017.
“I’m delighted to be restarting my tennis career with Tie Break Tens, which is attracting new fans, young and old, to the sport.” Bartoli said. “The opportunity to compete again at the highest levels will position me well for the rest of the 2018 season.”
The remaining four participants in the New York tournament are set to be announced shortly.
For more information, please visit www.tiebreaktens.com.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve