Self portraits paint pretty picture for charity

Self-portraits and signed racquets of the eight finalists who competed at the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals have raised a total of $127,755 in an online charity auction, said the ATP in a statement on Tuesday.

To mark their qualification for the season-ending tournament, the eight players who battled it out for the last title of the year at The O2 in London produced unique self-portraits by hitting paint covered tennis balls at large art canvases. Each canvas was overlaid with a stencilled image, which, when removed, revealed a unique self-portrait showing one of the player’s signature moves on court

Andy Roddick’s self-portrait made a late surge on the final day of the auction to come out on top at an impressive $33,100. Roger Federer’s artwork came in second on $27,300, with Rafael Nadal in third place on $26,500. Novak Djokovic’s artwork also made a late surge to earn $22,103. A total of 662 bids were placed on the eight pieces of art.

All proceeds from the auction, which was organised by the ATP, will benefit charity, with 50% of the proceeds going to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals official tournament charity – Save the Children – and the other 50% going to each player’s chosen charity.

Justin Forsyth, Chief Executive Save the Children UK, said: “Save the Children are delighted to be the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals official charity and we would like to thank Barclays, the ATP and especially the players for supporting our work through the Art of Tennis auction. The auction has raised over $127,000, which is a fantastic achievement for children all over the world.”

The self-portraits and signed racquets were exhibited at La Galleria Pall Mall art gallery in London ahead of the tournament, and in the Fan Zone at The O2 during the event. The artworks became the subject of an online bidding battle throughout the tournament, with fans all over the world eager to get their hands on a unique piece of tennis history created by the world’s best players.

Player  (Charity of Choice)	Origin of Winning Bid		Sold
Roddick (Andy Roddick Foundation)	USA		$       33,100.00
Federer (Roger Federer Foundation)	UK		$       27,300.00
Nadal (Rafael Nadal Foundation)	UK		$       26,500.00
Djokovic (Novak Djokovic Foundation)	USA		$       22,103.00
Murray (BBC Children in Need)	UK		$          7,301.00
Soderling (World Childhood Foundation)	Japan		$          5,100.00
Ferrer (Save the Children)	USA		$          3,350.00
Berdych (Save the Children)	Switzerland		$          3,001.00
		$      127,755.00

Click here to read more details on the auction and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals via the ATP website.

Topics: Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Art Canvases, Artwork, Atp World Tour, Barclays, Charity, Charity Auction, Chosen Charity, Fan Zone, Grand Slam, History C, Large Art, Late Surge, Novak Djokovic, Online Bidding, Pall Mall, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Save the Children, Self Portrait, Self Portraits, Signature Moves, Tennis Balls, Tennis History, Wimbledon

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