Tennis Takes a Stand to Show Heart

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- What we're learning now, this week, is that tennis does have a heart, after all. The headlines in this game are about F-bomb laced threats at a line judge, political infighting, fake injuries.

Too often, the players come off as self-absorbed, country club-types with their strongest sense being entitlement.

And now, we get this: Roger Federer and Pete Sampras will face Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi Friday night in a Hit for Haiti exhibition at Indian Wells to raise $1 million for earthquake victims. Also, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf will face Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin. All 16,100 seats are already sold out.

"When they asked me," Henin told me Wednesday, "I said, 'Of course,' the first second."

What a great moment this is going to be for tennis, and I'm not just talking about these great matches lined up.

Keep in mind that Henin, Federer and Nadal will already have started the tournament, one of the most important events of the year. Henin has been known to be over the top in controlling every tiny detail of her life during tournaments.

And in one second, she agreed to something like his. She might be playing the next morning.

I'm not sure exactly what to say about this, other than, good for them, good for tennis, good for the sports world. Too often, these charitable acts seem forced in sports. But this one seems genuine.



Share It stands out as a selfless act in a sport filled with selfish actors.

The way it has come down, too, shows just how easy it can be, frankly, to do something to help, especially for rich people.

We've all had ideas of how to help people, but they seem to get bogged down and disappear somehow. The rich and famous are making this happen with a few phone calls.

At the Australian Open, Federer was watching news reports of Haiti, and on the Saturday before a major championship started, when players are usually hibernating and worrying about getting the exact amount of sleep, water, protein and massages, Federer called the tournament director and asked if something could be done. Maybe an extra session of tennis the next day to raise money.

"He said, 'Probably not,' Federer said, " 'just because it's too close of a call with security and staff. But let me check.' "

While officials checked, Federer was in the locker room with his agent trying to find phone numbers, calling Nadal, running into Andy Roddick, getting in touch with Serena Williams. All agreed to participate the next day. Then, the Aussie Open came through.

And about 30 hours after the idea was born, 15,000 people were in a stadium watching the game's top players. Roughly $600,000 went to the Red Cross' efforts toward Haiti.


Larry Ellison noticed. He's the new owner of the Indian Wells tournament, a tennis nut, and also the fourth-richest man in the world, according to Forbes. He wanted to do a Hit for Haiti, and thought it would be best to combine some of the all-time greats with the current stars.

The goal is to raise $1 million Friday night, and while no official word has come, sources say that Ellison is prepared with pen and checkbook to make sure that goal is met.

I wish I hadn't mentioned the sport's image earlier, because I don't think this is about image at all. Henin said she was honored, not only by the chance to help, but also to play with and against the sport's legends.

Graf is her hero, and Henin said her knees will be shaking: "I'm still a little girl in front of her."

I have to say, too, that it makes the event even better that the fund-raising trend for Haiti has sort of passed. There is no pressure on these players, or on Ellison, to do this.

They just want to.

Meanwhile, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile has withdrawn from Indian Wells, an important tournament for his ranking. Why? He wanted to stay in Chile, which had its own major earthquake, and see how he could help.

He'll be back for the Miami tournament later in the month, and has offered people a chance to buy one of 10 tickets into a party with him.

The tickets cost $1,000, with the money going to Chile. He also has been calling players to get autographs and make donations for a silent auction.

Tiger Woods is off tour for a while to improve his image. Gonzalez is off to help his country.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams recently opened a school in Kenya.

Somehow, tennis just doesn't come off as being a sport that's of the people. But it's hard to picture other sports stopping mid-event for a fundraiser.

Maybe this can start to change tennis' image. But if not, well, that's not really the point, anyway.

E-mail me at gregcouch09@aol.com