Lotte New York Palace 2018 invitational was the place to be on Thursday evening.
A highly anticipated pre-US Open festivity, the cocktail reception and spirited badminton tournament always draws big names. This year’s event was no different. Players in attendance included 16-time Grand Slam winner and the number 1 player in men’s tennis Rafael “Rafa” Nadal, legendary sisters Serena & Venus Williams, German brothers Alexander (Sasha) & Mischa Zverev, and number 17 globally-ranked player in men’s singles Nick Kyrgios.
Kerry Feirman, Television Personality and Host of YouTube’s Talk Tennis emceed the evening. She was joined by Lotte New York Palace Representatives: Hyukbum Kwon, CFO of Lotte New York Palace, Becky Hubbard, General Manager of Lotte New York Palace, David Shenman, Director of Sales and Marketing of Lotte New York Palace, Tracy-Ann Hamilton, Sales and Marketing Operations Manager and Rachel Greenwald, Marketing and Public Relations Manager.
First up the the Zverev brothers played each other. Mischa won with a score of 13 to 4. Next, Venus Williams played Nick Kyrgios. It was a close match and Venus won 8 to 7. Last but definitely not least Serena played Nadal. It was our favorite match of the night. Serena won 13 to 12.
Now it’s @serenawilliams v. @RafaelNadal @NewYorkPalace #stayiconic pic.twitter.com/VovAUPet2q
— The Knockturnal (@_TheKnockturnal) August 23, 2018
After the matches, attendees enjoyed delicious green tennis ball ice cream sandwiches and blueberry panna cotta.