If you found your way into Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, odds are, you might've recognized a famous face slotted amongst the members of the US Open Ball Crew: Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
Butler surprised a sold-out crowd during the Stars of the Open exhibition, a cornerstone event of US Open Fan Week. During the opening match between Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe, the NBA icon ran out on the court to raucous applause.
Clad in the Ball Crew's signature Ralph Lauren match kit, Butler then joined Grammy-nominated singer Sebastián Yatra, the headliner of Friday night's Sounds of the Open event, to play a few points with two of the ATP's brightest young stars.
Yatra, a close personal friend of Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, said he trained at Nadal's eponymous tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain, in preparation for the event.
"Rafa told me he wasn't going to be at the tournament this year, so he really needed a strong representative," Yatra joked. "Carlos is always joking about playing doubles at the US Open, so maybe I'll think about it for next year."
When all was said and done, Alcaraz (and Yatra) defeated Tiafoe (and Butler) in a tiebreak set, 15-13.
"Like a dream come true for me," Butler said afterwards.
The Stars of the Open event, which sold out Armstrong to the tune of 14,000 people, brought together some of the biggest names in tennis to raise funds for humanitarian relief efforts on the ground in Ukraine.
"It's great for the game," Tiafoe said of the crossover appeal of both Butler and Yatra. "It's great for these guys to come out and support our sport, the sport that we love, and work so hard to play at a high level. I hope you guys really enjoyed the night; that's what counts."
