Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula set for New York exhibition at Madison Square Garden

With the conclusion of the US Open and a look at the ATP and WTA calendars, it appeared that players like Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Emma Navarro, and Jessica Pegula would not play tennis in the United States for the remainder of the year. However, the reverse is true, as they will participate in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden titled The Garden Cup.

The tennis event is scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, marking the inaugural edition of the tournament and the first time tennis will be played at Madison Square Garden since the Tie Break Tens tournament in March 2018.

The 20,000-capacity multi-purpose indoor arena has for decades been home to the NBA's New York Knicks and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.

On Thursday, September 12, Madison Square Garden announced the event on X (formerly Twitter) through a collage of the players' photos with the caption, "Tennis returns to The Garden." It also announced that venue pre-sale tickets will be available starting Friday, September 13, with tickets going on sale to the general public on September 16.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have faced each other once, while Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro have also played against each other once

Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula. Source: Getty Images

Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have faced each other only once on the ATP Tour. Their encounter took place in the second round of the 2023 Canadian Open, where the Spaniard won 6-3, 7-6(3).

Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula have also played each other only once. Their match took place in the fourth round of the 2024 Miami Open, where the 30-year-old, won 7-6(1), 6-3.

The four ATP and WTA players mentioned above have all had outstanding seasons. Here’s a brief look at how they have fared so far:

Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open in June by defeating Alexander Zverev in the final and followed that up with a victory at Wimbledon in July, capturing the fourth Grand Slam title of his career by beating Novak Djokovic in the final. The Spaniard also won the Indian Wells Open and took home the silver medal in men's singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ben Shelton achieved a career-high ATP ranking of No.13 in August and won the second title of his career at the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.

Emma Navarro is having the best season of her career. She secured her first WTA title at the 2024 Hobart International and reached the semifinals at the San Diego Open, Hamburg Open, Canadian Open, Monterrey Open, and the US Open. She also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Thanks to these performances, Navarro has climbed from No. 31 to No. 8 in the WTA rankings, marking the highest ranking of her career.

Jessica Pegula is also in excellent form, having returned to her career-high ranking of No. 3 following a successful run at the US Open, where she reached the final. Pegula also won the Grass Court Championships in Berlin and the Canadian Open.