Venus & Serena Visit Chicago

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Nov 17, 2004 1:56PM

Venus and Serena Williams will be in Chicago today kicking off their 3-city McDonald's Williams Sisters Tour to help raise funds for World Children's Day, a fundraiser benefiting the Ronald McDonald House.

The Williams Sisters are visiting Children's Memorial Hospital in the morning and then stopping by the local Ronald McDonald House and a clinic at Young High School. Tonight at they'll be playing an exhibition match against each other tonight at the UIC Pavilion. Before the sisters' match, a couple of Chicago tennis prodigies will face off - Donald Young will play a set against top US junior player, Spencer Vegosen. Young has got the backing of John McEnroe, who helped discover him at Grant Park during a tournament several years ago.

"It's something we've been dreaming of because we want to take tennis where it hasn't been before, or where people don't see us,'' Venus said. "It's not just about tennis, but about all the things Serena and I believe in. We believe in tennis, but we also believe, really, in giving back to the community at all levels.''

In addition to the Ronald McDonald House, the tour will benefit the local non-profit Lamont Bryant's Love to Serve Program.

The action begins tonight at 7pm. Tickets range from $15 - $150 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster or by contacting the arena box office at 312-413-5740.