- BNP Paribas has arranged a series of innovative happenings and meet-up opportunities to ensure that tennis fans enjoy an unrivalled experience around this year’s Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros.
- Discover what BNP Paribas has in store for fans at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the walkways at the Roland Garros stadium, on the courts, on the social networks, in VR mode and on the games console!
BNP Paribas, historical partner and official sponsor to the French Open tennis championships for the last 45 years, is once again preparing to demonstrate its creative powers and strong sense of sharing and fun during the coming fortnight in Paris. Having launched the We Are Tennis Fan Academy in 2015 and kicked off the We Are Tennis ‘Avantage’ programme last year, BNP Paribas will once again be offering aficionados of the fuzzy yellow ball plenty of exciting happenings to mark the 2018 tournament.
WATFA at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday 30 May
The prestigious We Are Tennis Fan Academy has since its launch in 2015 given more than 5,000 tennis supporters from all over the world the chance to experience the game in a new and exciting way. To thank fans for their unfailing enthusiasm, BNP Paribas will this year be welcoming them in a unique setting, on a Roland Garros court set up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the evening of Wednesday 30 May. Some 250 fans will be able to watch an exhibition match involving some of the great legends of world tennis: John McEnroe, Mansour Bahrami, Sergi Bruguera and Cédric Pioline.
The ‘We Are Tennis’ Show as an opener to the French Open final on Sunday 10 June
On finals day, BNP Paribas will be taking over Court n°1 at Roland Garros to put on a truly exceptional event – the ‘We Are Tennis’ Show at Roland-Garros, which will surely be the greatest ever ‘opener’ to a Grand Slam final. Over 3,000 people – both clients of the Bank and tennis fans – will be invited to spend the entire day at Roland Garros. First of all, the international final of the ‘We Are Tennis’ Cup, a team tennis competition for BNP Paribas Group staff, will be played during the morning. Then at 1.15pm there will be an opportunity to win one of the last few tickets available to see the French Open Men’s Final on the iconic Philippe Chatrier court. In addition, all invited guests will be able to watch the match on a giant screen erected at Court n°1, from 2.40pm onwards.
Digital experiences: an alternative way to enjoy tennis
Tennis on the games console!
Recently the French Tennis Federation and BNP Paribas jointly launched the ‘Roland Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas’, an e-gaming tennis tournament running right across the world. The competition is played through the Tennis World Tour video game published by Bigben, which provides a clay court decked out in the colours of the French Open tournament and a selection of players including Gaël Monfils, who is sponsoring the game. The qualification rounds have been taking place since April in eight countries – China, India, Brazil, France, the UK, Belgium, Italy and Spain. On this Friday 25 May, the winners from each country will contest the grand finals in the Roland Garros enclosure.
A connected ‘journey’ across the stadium every day
The ‘RG Fan Experience by BNP Paribas’, which can be accessed via the new Roland Garros app, enables members of the public to enjoy an exciting new experience in the stadium by following a connected ‘journey’ linking all the different happenings offered by BNP Paribas, the French Tennis Federation and various other partners. Spectators are invited to engage in a race with other fans to collect as many iconic areas of the stadium as possible all along the journey in a bid to win two tickets for the 2018 Men’s final. BNP Paribas is offering one ticket for the We Are Tennis Show on Sunday 10 June to all participants who take part in the four BNP Paribas happenings.
We Are Tennis in Augmented Reality mode
Play tennis on any existing surface! The first version of the app invites you to play against an unbeatable coach while waiting to play with a friend, and soon you’ll be able to play against a random selection of players from all over the world.
‘Aces of the Heart’ supporting sick children
Under the BNP Paribas Group’s ‘Aces of the Heart’ programme, for every ace served up on centre court, the Bank will donate the sum of €100 to the Robert Debré Universitary Hospital AP-HP to help finance the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, whose purpose is to improve the hospital care provided to new-born infants and the facilities available to their parents. For the first time this year, the public at Roland Garros will also be able to contribute to this charity initiative: the Bank will donate one euro to the Hospital for every ace served on the Tennis World Tour video game being played on the BNP Paribas stand at the Place des Mousquetaires. In addition, 30 children being treated in hospital will be invited to enjoy the Children’s Day event on Saturday 26 May. Starting in June this year, BNP Paribas will roll out the ‘Aces of the Heart’ programme in the UK during the Queens Club tournament, the first step in the Group’s plan to extend the programme abroad.
BNP Paribas is today the number one partner to tennis worldwide, with a commitment, unrivalled in sport, which goes back all the way to 1973. The Group’s support covers all levels and dimensions of the game all over the world, including singles, doubles, team tennis, wheelchair tennis and family tennis, ranging from beginners’ training to the top professional tournaments.
- Professional Tennis: Official sponsor of the French Open at Roland Garros; title sponsor of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas; title sponsor of three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments – the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open) in Rome; title sponsor of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore; partner to the Bank of the West Classic (Stanford), the Open 13 (Marseilles), the Moselle Open, the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open and the Fever-Tree Championships (Queen’s Club, London)
- Exhibition Tennis: The BNP Paribas Showdown in New York City
- Wheelchair Tennis: BNP Paribas Open de France; BNP Paribas World Team Cup
- Junior & University Tennis and Academies: The Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas; the Master’U BNP Paribas; the BNP Paribas Cup; the BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy of Dublin (Ireland)
- Amateur Tennis: Sponsor of the BNP Paribas Family Trophy; providing support to over 1,000 amateur tournaments around the world through partnerships with more than 20 national tennis federations; also working with dozens of tennis-based charities such as Yannick Noah’s charity organisation ‘Fête le mur’; as well as being the mainspring of a number of ground-breaking social projects linked to tennis.
Having entered into all these partnerships, BNP Paribas set up in 2011 a programme called We Are Tennis, whose purpose is to promote interest in the game of tennis all over the world. The wearetennis.com website and its social network accounts bring together a community of tennis lovers and dedicated fans from all continents who are keen to obtain the latest news from the ATP, WTA and ITF circuits. In addition, in 2015 BNP Paribas created the We Are Tennis Fan Academy, which enables fans to express their passion for tennis as never before. BNP Paribas also supports local tennis through crowdfunding campaigns designed to finance projects. Also in 2015, the Group initiated a charity programme called ‘Aces of the Heart’ to assist young hospital in-patients and their families. The programme seeks to improve the daily lives and reception facilities at children’s hospitals and arranges for the children to attend tennis tournaments sponsored by the Bank.
More information: wearetennis.bnpparibas
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