- On Thursday, I attended the 2019 Palace Invitational, an annual event at an iconic New York City hotel in honor of the US Open, America's largest tennis tournament.
- Tennis stars Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams, Alexander "Sascha" and Mischa Zverev, Sam Querrey, Daniil Medvedev, and special guest Cori "Coco" Gauff faced off in friendly games of badminton.
- In 90 degree heat, guests in button-up shirts and summer dresses sipped sangria cocktails and rosé wine and snacked on small bites that included Kobe beef sushi and chorizo and saffron arancini.
- The badminton matches only lasted about 20 minutes total, nobody seemed to know the rules or care who won, and the tennis players didn't stick around afterward.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On a sweltering Thursday night in New York City, I attended the 2019 Palace Invitational, a glamorous professional tennis event in honor of the US Open.
The event, which took place at the iconic Lotte New York Palace hotel, saw tennis superstars including Rafael Nadal and Serena and Venus Williams facing off in a friendly game of badminton.
Here's what the event was like.