Grand Slam Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Andre Agassi has committed to attend the 17th Annual Merrill Lynch/Bank of America Gala to benefit the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation. The event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach.

“We are thrilled that Andre will be joining us this year. We had talked about moving the event from the original September dates to get away from the US Open Finals which are now on Monday, and when Andre’s schedule had an open date, we jumped at the chance. Through our mission, we encourage our youth to become champions in classrooms, on tennis courts and throughout communities. Andre is not only a champion in the tennis world, but a champion for all he does for at-risk youth,” said MWKF Founder MaliVai Washington.

Andre is a retired ATP Tour tennis professional who once hailed as the World’s #1 tennis player. During the early 1990s to the mid 2000s, Andre was considered to be one of the most formidable players in the sport. Andre has earned numerous titles throughout his professional career, including becoming one of only six male players to win all four Grand Slam Tournaments since the beginning of the Open Era. Agassi is married to fellow tennis player, Steffi Graf and the couple have two children. Andre devotes much of his time to the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event will include a cocktail reception, silent and live auction, dinner, scholarship awards to MWKF students, remarks by Mr. Agassi and dancing. There will also be pre and post event private receptions as well as a Meet & Greet session with Agassi for larger donors. Event tickets are limited and go on sale to the general public on June 15. For additional information, please visit www.malwashington.com or call (904) 359-5437 (KIDS).