CINCINNATI – The Western & Southern Open recently donated $385,000 to local charities, bringing the total the tennis tournament has donated to nearly $10 million over more than 40 years.
The donations included $200,000 for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, $150,000 for the UC Barrett Cancer Center and $35,000 for Tennis for City Youth, which provides lessons and equipment to children who could not otherwise afford to learn the game, tournament officials announced.
"These donations are a testament to the hard work of our staff, board members and most importantly, the volunteers who contribute countless hours each year to the event, which in turn allows us to give back to the community," tournament CEO Elaine Bruening said. "The beneficiaries all do great work to better our city and we're proud to support them."
The tournament has donated to Children’s Hospital for 42 consecutive years now. They’ve donated a total of $8.3 million to the hospital.
In addition to the donations, the tournament organizes annual visits to Children’s Hospital with the ATP World Tour and WTA players to meet and interact with patients. Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker, James Blake, the Bryan brothers and Petra Kvitova have been among the stars they’ve brought in to the hospital.
