KNOXVILLE (WVLT) -- Rarely do the top names in tennis find their way to East Tennessee, but on Sunday, four stars including a former world champion came to Thompson Boling Arena.

The Rock-n-Racquets event didn't pack the basketball Vol’s home like Bruce Pearl and Pat Summitt’s would have, however in spite of the recession it proved to be a big success.

"I think tennis does take a backseat because primarily football and basketball are so popular because of UT," said Steve Olberman, a tennis fan. "Well anytime there's good tennis coming to Knoxville, I want to see it."

Organizers say it was a good crowd of truly dedicated tennis fans who came to see Rock-n-Racquets.

"We just moved from New York and we used to always go to the U.S. Open," said Richard Sciarretta, who bought tickets to the event.

Former world number one Andy Roddick joined nine time grand slammer Serena Williams to take the court against up and coming tennis stars John Isner and Caroline Wozniacki. The charity event was fun for all and ticket prices ranged from really reasonable up to $120.00 a seat. East Tennessean’s bought seats all over the arena.

"They were fourteen dollars,” said Sciarretta, “a great deal for these seats.”

“About $75.00,” said Grace Jansen, who didn’t let the economy effect her decision to go. “Sometimes you splurge on things as special as this.”

Even in a tough economy, the event had a good turnout, with many going to celebrate the upcoming holiday’s

“My husband got it as part of my Christmas present,” said Angie Williams.

Overall the event offered the crowd a chance to forget about everything and enjoy the sport of tennis.

"It's always tough, it is,” said Oberman. “We don't get much of an opportunity to have these events here in Knoxville, so we wanted to do what we could to support it."

All the money from Rock-n-Racquets helps benefit the Andy Roddick foundation, which hands out money to institutions that care for children who have been abused, face catastrophic illnesses or are considered at risk.