Madison Square Garden to host December exhibition featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton

NEW YORK (AP)—Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, Americans coming off career-best Grand Slam runs at the U.S. Open, will play each other in an exhibition event at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 4 that also will feature four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz against Ben Shelton.

The lineup for The Garden Cup was announced Thursday. It marks the first tennis event since 2018 at MSG, home to the NBA’s Knicks and NHL’s Rangers.

Pegula reached her first Grand Slam final at Flushing Meadows before losing to Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday. Navarro defeated defending champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the U.S. Open en route to getting to the semifinals, where she lost to Sabalenka.

Both Pegula, at No. 3, and Navarro, at No. 8, are in the Top 10 of the WTA rankings this week.

Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon this season but bowed out last month in the second round of the US Open, which he won in 2022 for his first Grand Slam trophy. Shelton’s best showing at a major was his semifinal appearance in New York last year; he lost to fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the third round this time.