Serena Williams, a 21-time Grand Slam champion, will take on close friend and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, and two-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka will square off with France’s Gael Monfils in the 9th Annual BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden, set for Tuesday, March 8.

The ninth edition of the BNP Paribas Showdown, which consistently attracts the biggest names in tennis, will follow the likes of Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Ivan Lendl, Juan Martin del Potro, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Mike and Bob Bryan, John and Patrick McEnroe, Grigor Dimitrov, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Monica Seles, Gabriela Sabatini and Jelena Jankovic, all of whom took part in previous Showdowns and provided unforgettable memories for New York tennis fans.

As in years past, the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden will once again headline a full day of worldwide activities as part of World Tennis Day, a global tennis participation effort. All events promote tailoring the game to players 10 & Under with smaller rackets, lighter balls and modified scoring.

Serena captured the inaugural BNP Paribas Showdown held in 2009 at Madison Square Garden with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over her sister Venus. The field also included 2008 French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic, as well as year ending number one Jelena Jankovic. Serena holds the most major singles, doubles, and mixed-doubles titles combined amongst active players and her record of 36 major titles puts her fifth on the all-time list. Additionally, Serena has won four Olympic Gold Medals, one in women's singles and three in women's doubles. 

Serena’s opponent, Wozniacki, is a former world number one who will be making her second appearance at MSG in the BNP Paribas Showdown, having faced Sharapova in 2012. She made her professional debut at 15-years-old in 2005 and has since won 23 WTA singles titles. In 2008, she was named WTA Newcomer of the Year.

"I have been fortunate to play in World Tennis Day events in New York and Hong Kong,” said Wozniacki. “It’s a great day to celebrate our sport. This year will be even more special as I return to Madison Square Garden with Serena. It doesn't get much better than that."

Wawrinka has won two Grand Slam titles over the course of his career, including the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open title. Additionally, Wawrinka was a member of the Swiss team that won the Davis Cup in 2014 and also won a Gold Medal in the 2008 Olympics. Stan and his doubles partner, Marco Chiudinelli, played in the longest known doubles match when they faced Tomas Berdych & Lukas Rosal in a match that lasted seven-plus hours.

"There are certain things in your tennis career that you want to do: Win Grand Slams, win the Davis Cup for your country,” said Wawrinka. “Playing in Madison Square Garden is one of the things on that list so I am excited about the invitation to play in the BNP Paribas Showdown and look forward to walking onto The Garden court.”

Monfils, is currently ranked 24th in the world. In 2014, he finished in the Top 20 for first time since 2011 and fifth time overall, and advanced to the quarterfinals of both the U.S. Open and French Open. He made it to the semifinals of the French Open in 2008 and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 2010. In recent Davis Cup play, Monfils went 3-0 in singles to help France reach its first final since 2010.

"I have always loved playing for the New York crowd which inspires me very much,” said Monfils. “So coming back to New York with Stan on World Tennis Day will be a great opportunity to play for the fans. We will put on a great show for them."

ESPN3, accessible across WatchESPN platforms, will present the 2016 BNP Paribas Showdown. The Serena-Wozniacki match will be seen on ESPN2 at 11:00 p.m., as ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert, Mary Joe Fernandez and Tom Rinaldi will call the matches.

The BNP Paribas Showdown from MSG will air live in Spanish on ESPN Deportes+ and internationally on ESPN’s networks in 57 countries throughout Latin America including in Portuguese in Brazil and in English in the Caribbean, plus Canada and the Pacific Rim.  In addition, ESPN’s broadband players in Latin America & the Caribbean (ESPN Play), in Brazil through WatchESPN and Australia & New Zealand (WatchESPN) will also stream live simulcast coverage of this event.

In addition, ESPN Classic will present past BNP Paribas Showdown events leading into the live coverage, beginning at 5:00 a.m. on March 8. The full schedule is as follows:

9th Annual  BNP Paribas Showdown Tale of the Tape