Culture / Celebrities

TAG Heuer builds floating tennis court, Sharapova tries it

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer put on a show of its “Don’t crack under pressure” values with Maria Sharapova and Singapore’s first floating tennis platform.

Oct 27, 2015 | By null

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer put on a show of its “Don’t crack under pressure” values with tennis superstar Maria Sharapova and Singapore’s first floating tennis platform. The Luxuo team gathered at Clifford Pier to witness the spectacle and we were not disappointed. Sharapova is of course a TAG Heuer ambassador and, from her arrival via boat to an exhibition match with tennis great Michael Chang and an entertaining stunt with speed painting artist Michael Raivard, she gave her fans a night to remember. Sharapova also played a part in the evening’s more serious business, a charity drive for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: Maria Sharapova (C) arrives by boat during the Maria Sharapova Exhibition Match at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer) *** Local Caption *** Maria Sharapova

Sharapova arrives by boat during the Maria Sharapova Exhibition Match at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer)

In a game of mixed doubles – with Sharapova and Chang paired with local tennis players Angeline Devi Devanthiran, 19, and Shaheed Alam, 17 – TAG Heuer pledged a hefty $100 per rally so the stakes were high. The massive 181-rally certainly delivered for both the charity and the audience, resulting in a $18,100 cheque for the Foundation. “History is written in moments of adversity and in the superhuman will to overcome. That will exists not just in sport, but in everyday life, especially in the boys and girls of the Make-A-Wish Foundation who remain strong in the face of illness,” said Luc Decroix, Vice President of Global Sales, TAG Heuer. The evening also had a genuine tugs-on-hearstrings moment as 8-year-old Joshua Ong, who suffers from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, took to the court to present Sharapova with the new TAG Heuer Limited Edition SG50 Aquaracer; his wish was to meet a sports superstar and his wish certainly came true…

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: A general view of the Singapore's first ever floating tennis platform built by Tag Heuer ahead of the WTA Finals at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer)

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: A general view of the Singapore?s first ever floating tennis platform built by Tag Heuer ahead of the WTA Finals at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer)

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: Maria Sharapova (C) reacts during the speed serve challenge of the Maria Sharapova Exhibition Match at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer) *** Local Caption *** Maria Sharapova

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: Eight-year-old Joshua Ong (C), who suffers from non-Hodgkin lymphoma presents a TAG Heuer limited edition SG50 Aquaracer?to Maria Sharapova (L) as Amelia Sillard, VP, TAG Heuer South East Asia looks on during the Maria Sharapova Exhibition Match at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer) *** Local Caption *** Maria Sharapova; Amelia Sillard; Joshua Ong

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: Speed painting artist, Michael Raivard (L) high-five with Maria Sharapova after the speed painting contest infused with gold dust during the Maria Sharapova Exhibition Match at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel on October 22, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images For TAG Heuer) *** Local Caption *** Maria Sharapova; Michael Raivard


 
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