As official partner of the French Open at Roland-Garros, the Swiss watchmaker Longines has decided to seek out future tennis champions this year. Sixteen children from all around the world will be playing in a tournament leading up to an exciting mixed doubles final involving Gustavo Kuerten and Mary Pierce, who both won the French Open ten years ago.
After this event, Longines will be continuing its support for disadvantaged children through its sponsorship of the charity foundations set up by Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, two of the brand’s Ambassadors of Elegance. Finally, at a charity dinner a representative of the famous Swiss watch company will have the singular honour of presenting the Longines Prize for Elegance to a sportsperson whose commitment to helping those in need deserves recognition.
Longines has invited 16 children (8 boys and 8 girls between the ages of 10 and 12) from all around the world to come to Paris. Having been selected in their own countries through their national tennis federations, these rising stars are among the best players of their age. At Roland-Garros they will be playing in the Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament on 3 and 4 June. They will be playing singles in two groups – boys and girls – and will play the best of 3 sets, each game being scored on the basis of a 5-point tie-break.
The children will be coached by Mansour Bahrami, who set up the Legends Trophy, as well as Tsung-Hua Yang, who is also among Longines’ Ambassadors of Elegance. The two winners of the tournament will then team up with Gustavo Kuerten and Mary Pierce for a show final that will take place on Saturday, 5 June 2010, on court no. 7 at Roland-Garros. This match will give the children an opportunity to play alongside two tennis legends and to gain immeasurable experience.
To reward and support the young victors, Longines will be offering them an annual reward of $2,000 until they are 16 aimed at encouraging their career in tennis. After the final, Longines will also be donating a cheque for $100,000 to the foundations set up by Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, which will be presented personally to two children from the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.
A press conference is planned for Saturday 5 June at 12.45 p.m. at the Roland-Garros Tenniseum when the various charity actions will be presented in detail.
For further information:
https://www.longines.com/rolandgarros/future-tennis-aces/news
