The Stars of the Court and Kitchen Shine for the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis Event

BNP Paribas hosted the 12th Annual Taste of Tennis event where the tops in the game of tennis and the top chefs in the world gathered together in Manhattan at The W Hotel to showcase some amazing food, whip up some signature cocktails and dance the night away. It was a great way for the stressed-out tennis stars to get a chance to relax and enjoy the cuisine just prior to the start of the 2011 U.S. Open. Some of the players on hand were Americans Mardy Fish and James Blake, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, Tommy Haas from Germany, Victoria Azarenka from Belarus, and many more. The city’s top chefs working hard to feed the athletes included Michelle Bernstein, Gabe Thompson, Mark Vidal and Kerry Heffernan just to name a few.

It was a night dedicated to the players as an opportunity to relax and forget about the task at hand, prepping for the final Grand Slam of 2011, the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

“I love coming back home and playing in front of my home crowd,” said James Blake. “It is a very exciting time of year and the energy from the crowd is unlike any other tournament I play in.”

Proceeds from the event went to the NYJTL, the largest junior tennis program in New York City. This was the second year in a row that the NYJTL was the beneficiary of the Taste of Tennis event which was established in 1999.

TV personality A.J. Calloway was on hand for the Taste of Tennis event

Russian tennis player Mikhail Youzhny



World number five-ranked Vera Zvonareva from Russia is interviewed on the red carpet

Chef Marco Porceddu at the 12th Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis event

Tennis Player Heidi El-Tabakh from Canada enjoying the red carpet arrival at The W Hotel

Chef Emma Hearst arrives at the Taste of Tennis event in NYC

Spain’s Rafael Nadal arrives in New York City for the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis event



Germany’s Tommy Haas takes part in the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis event