On August 26, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) will host its annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, which looks to excite youngsters and get them involved in a sport that could use some more American players. In addition to interactive exhibits and appearances from top tennis pros like Novak Djokovic, the Kids’ Day will include a series of live performances, and the artists who will perform as part of this year’s festivities show exactly how the USTA plans to appeal to a new generation of potential players. The headliners include YouTube stars Jack & Jack and Alex Aiono (pictured above), both of whom will serve up sets at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY.
Aiono, a crooner with more than five million YouTube subscribers, and Jack & Jack, a fraternal duo with 1.6 million subscribers of their own, are both big-name stars who have the ability to attract their respective audiences to the USTA’s annual bash. The rest of the slated performers — Sofia Carson, New Hope Club, and Saving Forever — include several artists who have built up respectable digital followings of their own. All of the assembled musicians will help the USTA launch Net Generation, a new campaign that is described on its homepage as “the future of tennis.”
“Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day is a fantastic way to pay tribute to Arthur Ashe,” said Gordon Smith, USTA Executive Director and COO, in a press release. “We’re thrilled to launch Net Generation — the largest youth initiative in the sport’s history — at this incredible event.”
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If the USTA hopes YouTube viewers will come to Kids’ Day to meet their favorite creators, it has smartly set reasonable prices in order to encourage that exact scenario to play out. Tickets for the event start at just $10, with loge seats going for $25. And if you’re the type of person who prefers tennis to youth-focused musical performances, you can return to Queens two days after Kids’ Day for the start of the 2017 US Open.
