MADRID, April 30, 2016
For the third consecutive year, excitement, fun and sportsmanship were on display in the “Magic Box” on Friday afternoon. Nobody wanted to miss the third Mutua Madrid Open Charity Day, which brought together a number of players and celebrities to fight for a good cause. Every year, the biggest stars are always willing to do their bit and take to the clay.
Charity match in Madrid
(photo: A. Martinez/MMO)
Feliciano López and Garbiñe Muguruza were the captains of the two teams who showed off their skills with a racquet. The former was joined by fellow players Rafael Nadal and Martina Hingis, basketball player Rudy Fernández, singer Edurne, ex-footballer Aitor Ocio and actress Mariam Hernández. While Garbiñe shared her side of the court with Simona Halep, actor Stany Coppet, entrepreneurs Alejandra Silva and Aldo Comas, actress Nerea Barros, and ex-number 1 Marat Safin.
The charity event was overseen by special-guest umpire, Cayetano Rivera, and presented by Jaime Cantizano and Luján Argüelles. Thanks to their help, money was raised to help Syrian refugees through UNHCR (The UN’s agency for refugees), CEAR (Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid), UNICEF and Mensajeros de la Paz.
Feliciano López
(photo: Felipe Sevillano / MMO)
The biggest cheers came at the end of the event, when Nadal and Martina Hingis joined forces to take on Feliciano and Garbiñe in a doubles match, providing some great rallies that had the fans on their feet as they enjoyed the spectacle provided by the players on the Caja Mágica clay, which today saw its first day of competition.
Other famous faces were spotted in the crowd, such as Jesús Olmedo and his wife Nerea Garmendia; actress Norma Ruiz, ex-footballer Iván Helguera with his family and Juan “la hormiga” Ibáñez, who wanted to watch his girlfriend, Nerea Barros, on the court.
The format of the charity event was the same as that of previous years in which celebrities and sports stars such as Iker Casillas, Elsa Pataky, Andy Murray, Eva González, Serena Williams, Arturo Valls, Cristina Pedroche, Rudy Fernández and Dani Rovira, among others, have all taken part.
