Some of tennis’ biggest stars joined with outlandish YouTube stars ‘Dude Perfect’ on Louis Armstrong Stadium Saturday, to create plenty of new tennis-specific moments that will undoubtedly go viral.
World No. 1s Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, along with American sensations Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff, and 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic took on the “Dudes” in an off-beat series of tennis tricks and competitions, one of the featured activities on a jam-packed Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In front of an electric, overflowing and often high-pitched crowd of kids in Armstrong, the zany Dudes put tennis’ brightest stars through a series of colorful and twisted games that will surely add a few more tennis lovers to the content creators’ nearly 60 million followers on YouTube.
Alcaraz and Swiatek, last year’s US Open champions, were first out on Armstrong, pairing in a mini-court doubles soccer/tennis exhibition using oversized Wilson tennis balls against the Dudes. The world No. 1s were a fierce mixed duo with their feet, putting their signature footwork on display to easily down the Dudes in a quick game to five. The pair then used the oversized balls in a World Cup-style penalty kick shootout from opposite baselines, laughing at every turn, before kicking and hitting balls into the crowd.
After the world No. 1s had exited the court, Gauff and Shelton took over, performing a tennis target accuracy contest that Gauff breezed to victory in, trash-talking Shelton all the way by declaring, “Girls do it better.”
The young Americans followed up their tennis accuracy with a football toss to the baseline. Shelton, a former left-handed quarterback in grade school before turning full-time to tennis at 12 years old, did look a tad bit rusty in the pocket. Still there were flashes of his former self, as a few tight-spinning spirals hit their targets.
Dude Perfect saved their best, funniest, and most quirky contest for four-time US Open champion, Djokovic. After warming up the world’s foremost tennis champion and (D)joker, the Dude Perfect team decided to level the playing field, taking his racquet away and giving him a bit more of a challenge.
The Serbian superstar went through an assortment of new ways to hit a tennis ball against the Dudes, using a frying pan, a wood block, a spatula, a STOP sign, and, lastly, his own hands. In pure Djokovic style, he still managed to win and thrive despite the challenges, getting in a light-hearted warmup for his US Open run.
Dude Perfect stars Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert, Cody Jones, Cory Cotton, Coby Cotton, and Panda, also performed last year at Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, and, in 2016, teamed up with Serena Williams for their first fun tennis segment.
The Dudes also stayed after for a meet and greet with fans.
