• Tennis

French Open 2022: BNP Paribas strengthens its commitment to the younger generation

Published On 23.05.2022

As a long-standing partner of tennis and actively involved in inclusion through sport, BNP Paribas will be reaffirming its commitments during the French Open tennis tournament. Among the highlights of this 2022 edition are the 17,000 €10 tickets for under-25s, the invitation to more than 500 supporters of the We Are Tennis Fan Academy and the presence on the courts of the BNP Paribas Young Talent Teams. Overview.

Supporting the champions of tomorrow: 150 young talents supported by BNP Paribas

Since its creation in 2018, the “BNP Paribas Young Talent Team” programme has been providing human support and financial aid to young tennis talents in order to promote their chances of reaching the highest level. 

On Saturday 28 May 2022, BNP Paribas, together with the FFT, will unveil the new ambitions of this programme based on its international development, with the launch of two new teams and the creation of a solidarity programme for all young people entering the professional circuit. 

This will be the first time that the various Young Talent Teams and their patrons, including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and John McEnroe, will be brought together.

The Junior tournament

On the sidelines of this event, BNP Paribas will be organising the draw for the Junior tournaments in which a dozen of its Young Talents will be entered; tournaments recently won by two of them: Elsa Jacquemot in 2020 and Luca Van Assche in 2021.

€10 tickets for 17,000 young people at Roland-Garros

To enable the younger generation to enjoy the magic of the French Open, a special half-price ticket for young people under 25 is being offered by BNP Paribas and the FFT. 17,000 young people will have access to the Roland-Garros stadium and courts for €10 during the qualifying week and the last week of the tournament.  

BNP Paribas will also invite 1,000 teenagers and young adults from partner associations working for the inclusion of young people, such as SOS Villages d’Enfants, the Apprentis d’Auteuil, the Ecole de la 2ème chance, Viens voir mon taf and Fête le Mur.

First licence free for all tennis players under 25

To enable the most motivated to take action and to encourage the practice of tennis within clubs, BNP Paribas will cover the cost of the first licence of any new tennis player under 25 wishing to join a club. 

This meaningful initiative will be launched in France at the start of the sports season in September 2022.

More than 500 supporters to energise the 10 evening sessions of the tournament

Created in 2015 by BNP Paribas, on the initiative of “Captain McEnroe”, the We Are Tennis Fan Academy, the first tennis fan school in the world, aims to bring new energy to the courts. Five exceptional years during which the famous Academy warmed up tennis venues all over the world, contributing to the atmosphere at several hundreds of matches. 

After two years of absence due to the health crisis, the Academy is finally back at the French Open, more alive than ever. More than 500 fans, invited by BNP Paribas during the fortnight - including 400 young people, 200 of whom come from partner associations, schools and licence holders - will liven up the 10 evening sessions of the Paris tournament, between 23 May and 1 June. 

Personalities and French tennis players will join fans to share in these sessions, which are set to be electric, particularly through their original “DJ SET AND MATCH” scenario proposed by BNP Paribas and the FFT. A line-up of 10 international DJs will be on hand every night to set the centre court alight before the players arrive.

Champions of solidarity 

A solidarity programme with Félix Auger-Aliassime

Since the beginning of 2020, BNP Paribas and the young Canadian player Félix Auger-Aliassime, No 9 in world ranking, have been committed to education and the protection of children’s rights in Togo

As part of this programme in favour of the NGO CARE, each point scored by Felix on the ATP circuit is monetised to the tune of $20 ($5 by the player and $15 by BNP Paribas) to help rehabilitate several schools, provide them with teaching materials and offer school kits to the children.   

On the eve of the French Open, almost 13,000 points have already been scored and the counter will continue to climb during the tournament!

The "Aces du Cœur"

Since 2012, BNP Paribas has been leveraging its commitment to tennis to reward the aces scored by tennis stars on the centre court of Roland-Garros for the benefit of solidarity programmes. 

Once again, this year each ace scored on the center court will add €100 to the Fête le Mur fund raiser counter, to be donated to this organisation which works for the inclusion of youth through sport.  

Screening of the film Battle of the Sexes with Billie Jean King 

On Thursday 2 June, on the evening of the women’s semi-finals, a screening of the film Battle of the Sexes in the presence of Billie Jean King will take place at the initiative of BNP Paribas and the FFT. 

The film, which recounts Billie Jean King’s fight for gender equality in tennis, will be shown on a giant screen on the Suzanne Lenglen court in front of 5,000 spectators. On this occasion, BNP Paribas will invite 1,000 people from its ecosystem of associations and communities committed to gender equality.

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