GRAMMY-Award Winning Soul Singer Maxwell to Perform National Anthem at 2018 US Open Opening Night Ceremony

New York, N.Y. - The USTA today announced that GRAMMY-Award winning soul singer, Maxwell,will perform the National Anthem at the Opening Night ceremony of the 2018 US Open. The performance will take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium prior to the evening session on Monday, August 27. This announcement follows the news that GRAMMY-Award winning music sensation Kelly Clarkson will headline the Opening Night Ceremony.

This year's ceremony will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the US Open and will include former US Open champions, USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams and other special guests.

Maxwell, who recently announced his "50 Intimate Nights Live" Tour, has transfixed music lovers for more than two decades and has gone on to win multiple GRAMMY, NAACP Image and Soul Train Music Awards with even more nominations under his belt. Later this year, the singer will be performing some of his hit tracks as well as yet-to-be released music in many of North America's top theatres, including New York's Beacon Theatre, LA's Microsoft Theater and Chicago's Chicago Theatre. In addition, the Brooklyn-born soul singer will be releasing a 20th anniversary reissue of Maxwell's 1998 album 'Embrya' later this fall.

The US Open is scheduled for August 27 through September 9 with the US Open Fan Week and Qualifying Tournament beginning on August 21. 
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA's philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.