French Open 2019: BNP Paribas and Roland-Garros shine the spotlight on N°1 Court, BNP Paribas continues to help develop the younger generation of tennis players

• BNP Paribas and Roland-Garros today unveil the ‘N°1 Court Collection’, a collection of unique items manufactured by French SMEs using recycled materials from the stadium’s iconic N°1 Court.
• The entire proceeds of the sale of these collector’s items will be donated to Fête le Mur charity organization, whose mission is to promote widespread tennis-playing across France.
• BNP Paribas invites tennis fans to gather at N°1 Court on Sunday 9 June for a great festive day, including an exhibition match featuring young world tennis hopefuls.  

BNP Paribas, as the official sponsor of Roland-Garros for the last 46 years, is determined to provide tennis fans with unique experiences. At the occasion of the 2019 tournament, BNP Paribas invites fans to share in some very special moments.

BNP Paribas and Roland-Garros have created the ‘N°1 Court Collection’, which consists of 1,000 unique items produced by recycling materials from that historic tennis court.

The collection, made possible through the skills and knowhow of a number of French SMEs, consists of:

• 200 bags and 300 pouches manufactured from tarpaulin court-end banners
• 200 stand seats transformed into designer chairs
• 300 hourglasses containing sand taken from N°1 Court

The entire proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to the Fête le Mur charity organisation to support the rollout of the ‘BNP Paribas Kids Fête le Mur Kids Team’ youth training programme.

The purpose of this initiative, launched in March 2019 by BNP Paribas and Fête le Mur, is to spot 20 young prospects from within the Fête le Mur organization and foster their tennis skills and personal development.

‘We Are Tennis by BNP Paribas’ invites tennis fans to an exciting pre-final show on N°1 Court on Sunday 9 June.

Following the 2017 and 2018 editions, which attracted a total of over 4,000 fans, the ‘We Are Tennis Show’ will be back again this year, featuring:

• the final stages of the ‘We Are Tennis Cup’, an international tournament for BNP Paribas Group employees, in which over 3,000 people from 28 countries took part this year
• the international final of the ‘Roland-Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas’, an e-sport tournament played all over the world as part the ’Tennis World Tour - Roland-Garros Edition’ video game
• afternoon entertainment, including a stand-up comedy show
• an exhibition match featuring members of the two training programmes for promising young tennis players launched by BNP Paribas in 2018 and 2019 with a view to promoting equal opportunities in the sport: the ’BNP Paribas Young Talent Team’, run in association with the French Tennis Federation and mentored by French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; and the ‘BNP Paribas Mac 1 Team’, trained in New York City by Patrick and John McEnroe.
• the French Open 2019 Men’s final, relayed on a giant screen with live commentary

Throughout the day, competitions will be held, the prizes including ‘N°1 Court Collection’ items with signed dedications by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John McEnroe and Yannick Noah, plus tickets to the Men’s final played over on the Philippe Chatrier Court.

About BNP Paribas and tennis

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 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; partner to the Open 13 (Marseille), the Parc de Lyon Open, the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open and the Fever-Tree Championships (Queen’s Club, London), European Open (Anvers);
• 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;
• Amateur Tennis: Sponsor of the BNP Paribas Family Trophy; also providing support to over 1,000 amateur tournaments around the world, as well as being the mainspring of a number of ground-breaking social projects linked to tennis, through partnerships with more than 20 national tennis federations and working in tandem with dozens of tennis-based charities such as the charity organisation Fête le Mur founded and chaired by Yannick Noah  
• The younger generation: the ‘BNP Paribas Young Talent Team’, in association with the French Tennis Federation and mentored by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; the ‘BNP Paribas Mac 1 Team’, with John and Patrick McEnroe in the United States; and the ‘BNP Paribas Kids Fête le Mur  Team’, with Yannick Noah’s Fête le Mur charity organisation.
• Tennis e-sport: ‘Roland-Garros e-Series by BNP Paribas’, an e-sport tournament played all over the world as part of the ‘Tennis World Tour’ – Roland-Garros Edition’ video game.

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. Furthermore, 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.

In addition, the Group initiated in 2015 a charity programme called ‘Aces of the Heart’, whose aim is to help improve the reception facilities and daily lives of children who are in-patients at paediatric hospitals. The programme also arranges for the hospitalised children to watch tennis tournaments sponsored by BNP Paribas.