By Racquet
In celebration of the US Open, Racquet and Rockefeller Center hosted the second-annual Racquet House at Rockefeller Center, a pop-up tennis court open to the public. From August 24 to September 1, tennis-loving New Yorkers were able to play or just watch professionals show off their skills. Jessica Pegula, the world’s number three WTA player and current number one American player, was among the tennis stars who visited Racquet House. She played with kids from New York Junior Tennis & Learning.
This year’s Racquet House at Rockefeller Center was launched with a party at Radio Park, an urban oasis and amenity on the roof of Radio City Music Hall, on Thursday, August 24. The event kicked off with a VIP happy hour for the investor community, co-hosted by the VC firm Biospring in partnership with JP Morgan and McDermott, Will & Emery LLP.
Later in the evening guests were able to meet Racquet’s contributors and collaborators, as well as the finest professional tennis players representing co-hosts FILA & Yonex. Party activities included free tennis-themed flash tattoos by Joseph Grazzi, recovery massages by Hyperice, and Forever Bracelets welded onto wrists by Catbird. While DJ Jesko entertained guests with a selection of French Touch and classic house & hip hop, attendees sipped Aperol Spritz, enjoyed bites from Raising Cane’s, and played mini tennis with oversized racquets.
Racquet also used the occasion to launch the 23rd issue of their award-winning print quarterly magazine with cover star and Indian tennis legend Anand Amritraj.
Notable guests at the opening party included Tommy Paul, Casper Ruud, Reilly Opelka, Diego Schwartzman, Jamie Chung, Dev Hynes/Blood Orange, Paige Lorenze, Bridget Malcomb and Taylor Zakhar Perez. Images from the event shot by BFA can be found here.
The launch of the Rallymaster 2.0, Racquet’s second timepiece collaboration with venerable Swiss brand Maurice de Mauriac was the occasion for Friday’s Aperol Spritz happy hour.
On Saturday, Hyperice took center stage at the Racquet House court with an invigorating Hypervolt Go 2 mobility class, guided by AARMY’s co-founder and fitness instructor Akin Akman. The event was capped off with a happy hour featuring Hypervolt massages, Normatec sessions, and the chance to personalize their recovery at the build-your-own massage stations.
The Racquet House residence concluded with a powerful panel on the Future of Women’s Tennis hosted by Rennae Stubbs and Jennifer Lum of WTA Ventures featuring Alyssa Yoneyama (Yonex CEO), Kimberly Selden (co-founder of Black Girls Tennis Club), and WTA tennis players Victoria Azarenka and Shelby Rogers. This panel discussed strides made by the women’s tour on its 50th anniversary, and called for inclusivity in the game for generations to come.
Yonex was the official equipment partner of Racquet House at Rockefeller Center.
Racquet House is a tentpole event series of pop-ups timed to celebrate notable moments in the tennis calendar. Racquet House began with a Palm Springs takeover of the Dinah Shore Estate, and has made notable appearances at Kelly Wearstler’s Beverly Hills home, London’s SW19 in celebration of Wimbledon, the Silvertop Residence in Los Angeles and most recently, at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris ahead of Roland Garros 2023. Racquet House returns to Rockefeller Center this year following last year’s inaugural celebration at the Center. The 2022 celebration was their first pop-up in New York, where Racquet was founded and is currently based. The 2023 Racquet House and Rockefeller Center partnership was supported by FILA, Yonex and Aperol Spritz.
