Spotlight on the Roland-Garros ball kids
BNP Paribas has supported the Roland-Garros ball kids since 1973 and has been involved in selecting them throughout France since 2000. Prior to this, selection was reserved for licence holders from the Île-de-France region. Thanks to BNP Paribas' support, 6,000 young people can now apply, with 300 being selected to run around the courts picking up balls at France's biggest tennis tournament.
To illustrate this long-standing support, BNP Paribas has been keen to showcase the ball kids by broadcasting a romanticised advertising campaign embodied by a love story between two of them. Directed by Enya Baroux, actress, screenwriter and director of the film On ira (awarded at the Alpe d'Huez Film Festival), the fictionnal piece will be screened on TV and online throughout the tournament.
Supporting Ball Kids for over 50 years
Since 1973, BNP Paribas has been supporting the ball kids at Roland-Garros and, since 2000, has been involved in their selection across France. On the occasion of Roland-Garros 2025, BNP Paribas is shining a spotlight on this commitment and the journey of the ball kids.
The Ball Kids Academy
To share the daily life of the Ball kids at the Grand Slam tournament, We Are Tennis by BNP Paribas launches "the Ball Kids Academy". An original web-reality series that follows 6 ball kids from the Roland-Garros 2025 class: Antoine, Artemis, Constance, Lola, Louis et Sacha. Inspired by the codes of reality TV, and supported by tennis player Stan Wawrinka, the Ball Kids Academy uncovers all the behind-the-scenes action.
Hosted by two content creators (Mayadorable and Jules Pedretti), the young members of the Ball Kids Academy will also receive support from Arthur Bongrand (Roland-Garros Ball kids manager) and Elise Hermant (Global Head of Communications at BNP Paribas). The prize at stake in this web-reality series: the opportunity for the public's favorite candidate, chosen by the We Are Tennis community, to present the trophies to the winners of Roland-Garros 2025. The show will be broadcast until 8 June on the We Are Tennis social media channels (Instagram, TikTok and Youtube).
Uniting and training the Roland-Garros ball kids
In 2021, BNP Paribas and the French Tennis Federation (FFT) created the We Are Ballos platform, to energise and unite the community of ball kids. To go still further and beef up our support, the Group and the French Tennis Federation announce the creation of a school for ball kids. The aim is to enhance their training and provide more young people with the opportunity to fulfil their dreams at Roland-Garros through year-round sessions.
The BNP Paribas Young Talents Team
Each edition of Roland-Garros showcases the future stars of tennis, with its fair share of amazing stories and revelations. Through the BNP Paribas Young Talents Team, the Group supports young hopefuls in world tennis helping them to reach the highest level. Created in 2018 and rolled out in France, the United States, Poland, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Canada and Portugal, the programme now includes nearly 160 young players in 8 countries. This year, 24 young talents from the programme participate in Roland-Garros, including 13 in the senior tournament.
Making tennis ever more accessible and supportive
Convinced that tennis has the capacity to mobilise beyond sport and have a positive impact for future generations, the Group is reaffirming its commitment to youth through several initiatives deployed during the tournament.
- The Points For Change programme: each point scored during Roland-Garros will be converted into donations to the Fête le Mur association: 1 point = 1 euro.
- #FAAPointsForChange with tennis player Félix Auger-Aliassime: for each point scored on the ATP tour, the player ranked 19th in the world donates $5 which BNP Paribas matches by gifting $15. These donations collected will fund excellence scholarships for talented students from rural backgrounds in Togo.
- A ticketing offer reserved for the under 25s: to make it easier for young people to access Roland-Garros, BNP Paribas has introduced preferential ticketing. Almost 40,000 tickets will be sold at half price to those aged under 25.
