Win A Trip To French Open

Written by: Staff on 5th April 2011

Win A Trip To French Open

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Longines, the official timekeeper and partner of the French Open, has announced that 16 junior boys tennis players age 12-and-under will take part in a one-day Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament with the winner earning a trip to the French Open in Paris, France, and a chance to hit with tennis legends Andre Agassi and Jim Courier.

The event will take place April 9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open, in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., and will include selected players from the USTA Eastern, Middle States, New England Sections, as well as the Harlem Junior Tennis League. During the tournament, the players will have the opportunity to hit with 1993 French Open doubles champion Luke Jensen.

Last year, Lauren Fishbein of Livingston, N.J., won the inaugural Future Tennis Aces event and the trip to Paris, where she competed against seven other girls from seven different countries including Australia, China and Russia.

Agassi, who has been a Longines Brand Ambassador since 2007, assisted in selecting the 16 boys, who were asked to write a 300-word essay on philanthropy. The boys were selected on two criteria: athletic performance and commitment to give back to the community. Last year’s participants were selected by fellow Longines Brand Ambassador, Agassi’s wife and tennis Hall of Famer Stefanie Graf.

The runner-up of this year’s Longines’ tournament, a USTA Sanctioned event, will earn two courtside tickets to the 2011 U.S. Open with the third-place consolation victor winning two loge tickets to this year’s Open.

This global tennis program will consist of national tournaments held in 16 countries for athletes between the ages of 10-12 years old. Winners from each nation will receive an all-expense paid trip to Paris to compete in the worldwide championship event on June 1-4 at Roland Garros. The winners of the worldwide boys’ championship will then have the exclusive right to play against tennis legends, Agassi and Courier, as well as receiving financing for their tennis equipment until his 16th birthday.

The Road to Longines Future Tennis Aces is part of Longines’ global commitment to support and develop tennis’ superstars of tomorrow. All the players who qualify for the Paris event will have the opportunity to attend the French Open Women’s Final on June 4. Longines Future Tennis Aces is part of Longines’ global commitment to support and develop tennis’ superstars of tomorrow.

Countries hosting junior boys tournaments include Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italia, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA.

On Feb. 28, Longines was the official timekeeper for the BNP Paribas Showdown which featured exhibitions between Agassi and Pete Sampras and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl at Madison Square Garden.