During the 2018 edition of Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation and BNP Paribas are launching the “Roland-Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas”: a series of e-gaming (video game) tournaments played all over the world.
A qualifying phase, organised in the run-up to the French Open (from the end of March to the beginning of May), will be held in eight countries: China, India, Brazil, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
Every event will be contested by 32 participants. The winners from each country will then play each other in the grand final, which will take place at Roland Garros stadium on Friday 25th May 2018.
The French qualifying tournament will be held on Wednesday 25th April, in a BNP Paribas branch in Paris.
Registrations are already open to everyone on wearetennis.com BNP Paribas will host the other European tournaments in its branches in London, Rome, Brussels and Madrid.
This competition will be played on the forthcoming video game “Tennis World Tour”, published by Bigben. A demonstration version of the game will be used, which has a clay court decorated in the Roland Garros colours and a selection of players that includes Gaël Monfils, the game’s ambassador. Tennis World Tour will be released on 22nd May for PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™ and PC.
“The French Tennis Federation is delighted to become involved in e-sport alongside BNP Paribas, a loyal partner of the Roland Garros tournament. This initiative confirms the Parisian Grand Slam’s desire to stay at the cutting-edge of technology and operate in this rapidly-growing sector. This tournament will enable us to bring together communities of players who are passionate about tennis and about gaming,” explained Stéphane Morel, Deputy Managing Director of the French Tennis Federation’s Strategy and Development Department.
“BNP Paribas supports all branches of tennis –professional, wheelchair, junior and university, amateur – and e-tennis is another new discipline. Along with the French Tennis Federation, we wanted to respond to society’s enthusiasm for e-sport by launching this e-gaming tennis competition. With 30% of European e-sport fans being aged between 18 and 34*, this tournament is also for our younger tennis fans,” clarified Sébastien Guyader, Tennis Sponsorship Manager at BNP Paribas.
Roland Garros is breaking ground as the first Grand Slam tournament to organise this type of competition.
BNP Paribas We Are Tennis is reaffirming its innovative commitment to tennis. Back in 2005, BNP Paribas and PlayStation co-created the “Roland-Garros Virtual Tour” – the first ever virtual tennis tournament, reserved for players aged 12-25.
Since 2011, the wearetennis.com platform and its social media accounts (on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat) have brought together a community of nearly 2 million avid tennis fans from all continents.
Source: SuperData
BNP Paribas and tennis
Today BNP Paribas is the leading partner of global tennis, with a unique and long-standing commitment dating back to 1973. This commitment extends to all forms of tennis across the globe, including singles tennis, wheelchair tennis, club tennis and family tennis, and to all levels from beginners to the big professional tournaments.
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Professional tennis: Official Sponsor of Roland Garros, Title Sponsor of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, Sponsor of three ATP Masters 1000 (BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome), Title Sponsor of BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore, Partner of the Bank of the West Classic (Stanford), Grand Prix Hassan II (Marrakesh), Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Rabat), Open 13 Provence (Marseille), Moselle Open, BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open and AEGON Championships (London)
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Exhibition tennis: BNP Paribas Showdown in New York, Wheelchair tennis: BNP Paribas Open de France, BNP Paribas World Team Cup
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Junior and university tennis: Davis Cup and Fed Cup Junior by BNP Paribas, Master'U BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Cup, BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy in Ireland
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Amateur tennis: Sponsor of the BNP Paribas Family Trophy and of over 1,000 amateur tournaments around the world alongside over 20 national tennis federations and dozens of charitable organisations such as 'Fête le mur', run by Yannick Noah; organisation of original social projects involving tennis.
All these successful partnerships enable BNP Paribas to actively promote tennis on an international level through its We Are Tennis programme.
Since 2011, the wearetennis.com website and its social networks have brought together a community of fans and tennis lovers from all continents, providing the latest information on the ATP, WTA and ITF circuits. Since 2015, BNP Paribas has helped fans around the world develop their love of the game as never before through the We Are Tennis Fan Academy. BNP Paribas also supports tennis locally in France through crowdfunding projects. BNP Paribas set up the charitable programme We Are Tennis Solidaire in 2012. Its ambition is to renovate or create living, reception and play areas for children in hospital and their families, and to regularly organise events at hospitals and at tournaments to provide children with unforgettable experiences through tennis.
BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 74 countries, with more than 192,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporate and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.
Bigben is a major video game publisher, designer and distributor of mobile phone and gaming accessories as well as audio products. The group, recognised for its innovation and creativity, aspires to become a European leader in each of the sectors it is active in.