The annual fundraiser will feature musical performances by Rick Astley and Debbie Gibson, and 60 Minutes Correspondent Bill Whitaker will serve as master of ceremonies for the evening.Tickets are available on tennisfame.com/legends-ball

AUGUST 22, 2022, NEWPORT, R.I, U.S.A., – Journalist Jon Wertheim and RWQuarantunes, created by Richard and Demi Weitz, will be honored by the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Legends Ball presented by BNP Paribas, to be held on Saturday, September 10 at Cipriani 42^nd Street in New York City.

The Legends Ball presented by BNP Paribas is an annual celebration of tennis excellence, bringing together the sport’s legends and dedicated supporters in a special evening to benefit the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Expected attendees at the Legends Ball include Hall of Famers Stan Smith, Kim Clijsters, and Gigi Fernandez, among many others tennis greats.

Proceeds raised during the event will benefit the ITHF’s mission to preserve tennis history in the museum collection, celebrate its greatest champions through on-site and digital storytelling, and inspire the next generation through community outreach and education programs.

Hosted by Master of Ceremonies Bill Whitaker of CBS’ 60 Minutes, the Legends Ball will feature special musical performances by Grammy-nominated and Billboard-award winning artist Rick Astley and multi-platinum singer, songwriter and Broadway standout Debbie Gibson. Astley and Gibson were frequent performers on RWQuarantunes throughout the pandemic. The pair will take the stage alongside honorees Wertheim and the Weitzs, this year’s respective recipients of the Eugene L. Scott and Joseph F. Cullman Awards.

Jon Wertheim

Eugene L. Scott Award Recipient

Wertheim, Tennis Channel reporter, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, and correspondent for CBS’ 60 Minutes, will be honored with the Eugene L. Scott Award. Given in memory of the late Hall of Famer who was the publisher of Tennis Week magazine, the Scott Award is presented annually to an individual who displays commitment to communicating honestly and critically about the sport, and who has a significant impact on tennis.

A preeminent voice in sports journalism, Wertheim has been a full-time staff member of Sports Illustrated since 1996 and has reported with Tennis Channel since 2012. In addition to his immersive work in tennis, Wertheim has covered the NBA, sports business and society, and emerged as one of SI’s chief investigative reporters. Tennis fans around the world are accustomed to seeing Wertheim on Tennis Channel, where he brings a wide breadth of perspective as an analyst throughout the tennis calendar and is a regular contributor to Tennis.com.

Wertheim’s reporting acumen extends beyond sports as a correspondent for the most successful television broadcast program in history, CBS’ 60 Minutes. Since joining in 2017, he has reported on stories ranging from local newsrooms being strained by budget-slashing financial firms to the Ritchie Boys, the secret U.S. unit bolstered by German-born Jews who helped the Allies beat Hitler, a profile of Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winner Viola Davis, and an interview with the ATP Tour’s Rafael Nadal on his island home in Spain.

Wertheim is the author of 10 books including New York Times bestseller Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Made and Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played.

RWQuarantunes: Richard and Demi Weitz

Joseph F. Cullman 3^rd Award Recipient

RWQuarantunes will receive the Joseph F. Cullman Award, which honors an exceptional entity that has made a significant contribution to society at large – both philanthropically and through outstanding generosity of spirit. In March 2020 during the height of pandemic lockdowns, Richard Weitz, a partner and agent at WME, and his daughter Demi launched a series of virtual concerts featuring some of music’s biggest stars to benefit charitable causes. What began as an intimate Zoom experience from the Weitzs’ kitchen in Beverly Hills quickly became an international phenomenon.

In 2020, RWQuarantunes stepped in to replace Legends Ball during the Covid-19 pandemic, and funds raised during the virtual gala supported the ITHF at a much-needed time. During nearly a year and a half with 75 Zooms and over 550 performers, RWQuaratunes raised over $35 million for pandemic relief, racial equity, and nonprofits. Richard and Demi, now a sophomore at Stanford University, have been honored nationally by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Billboard Magazine, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Alliance for Childrens’ Rights, and many more organizations. 

The Legends Ball is presented by BNP Paribas and is also sponsored by Fidelity, FILA, and Infosys. Co-chairs for the event are John and Jody Arnhold, Ganesh Betanabhatla and Pooja Barbhaiya, Dominic and Nancy Casserley, Russ and Judy Fradin, Wendy Holcombe and Carl Kawaja, Andrea and Erik Lisher, Ajay and Debbie Nagpal, and Gary and Barbara Tolman.