Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King joined forces on Sunday, November 17, to host the 21st annual Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT) Smash Hits charity tournament held at ESPN World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The tournament helped raise $700,000 to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) grant-making initiatives and one of its supported local charities, the Hope and Help Center in Central Florida.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation has provided grants to support stigma reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention as well as direct treatment, care and service programs for 21 years since its inception in 1992. This event brought the amount of money Smash Hits raised for EJAF to more than $12 million.

Throughout the evening, tennis superstars alongside Sir Elton John took part in friendly competition by dueling it out on the court in the name of the cause. Andy Roddick, Venus Williams, Robert Kendrick, John Isner, Marion Bartoli, Vicky Duval, Taylor Townsend and Jean Julien Rojer split into two teams—Team Elton and Team Billie Jean—and entertained the crowd with a series of sets. By the end, Team Elton won 24 to 18.

Before the players set foot on the court, they attended a VIP reception and live auction that on its own raised more than $200,000. Among a few of the auctioned items were an Elton John-signed piano bench, Billie Jean King and Marion Bartoli’s Wimbledon tickets and Tournament packages for the U.S. Open and Indian Wells.

For more information on the Elton John AIDS Foundation go to www.ejaf.org
For more information on the Hope and Help Center go to www.hopeandhelp.org


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