Longines, the official timekeeper and partner of the French Open, announced today the United States’ participants for the 2011 Longines Future Tennis Aces event. The USTA-sanctioned event will take place on Saturday, April 9 at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY. The best 12-and-under players from the USTA’s Eastern, Middle States and New England sections, as well as Harlem Junior Tennis League will compete for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Roland Garros during the French Open against tennis legends Andre Agassi and Jim Courier.
The Road to Longines Future Tennis Aces is a global tennis program consisting of national tournaments held in 16 countries for boys 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 two world finalists will then have the exclusive right to play against tennis legends and former French Open Champions Agassi and Courier on June 4, just prior to the French Open women’s final.
U.S. Participants for the Longines Future Tennis Aces include:
Name Affiliation Hometown
Joshua Marchalik USTA Eastern Section East Brunswick, NJ
Finbar Talcott USTA Eastern Section Sea Cliff, NY
Bennett, Athell Patrick USTA Eastern Section Valley Stream, NY
Alan Delman USTA Eastern Section Great Neck, NY
Nicholas Fauchet USTA Eastern Section Pittsford, NY
George Gramatikov USTA Eastern Section Vestal, NY
Michael Chen Zhao USTA Middle States Section Princeton Junction, NJ
Joseph DeMarco USTA Middle States Section Erie, PA
Eliot Rozovsky USTA New England Section Brookline, MA
Maxwell Freeman USTA New England Section Ashland, MA
Revanth Boppana USTA New England Section Boxboro, MA
Harris Foulkes USTA New England Section Belmont, MA
Zuhri Sinclair Harlem Junior Tennis League New York, NY
DJ Smith Harlem Junior Tennis League Roosevelt Island, NY
Athletes competing in the U.S. tournament were selected on two criteria: athletic performance and commitment to give back to the community. Each registered athlete submitted a 300-word essay on philanthropy that was voted on by a panel of judges which included tennis legend and Longines brand ambassador Andre Agassi.
Additional countries hosting On The Road To Longines Future Tennis Aces tournaments include: Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italia, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom.
Providing coaching and encouragement to all of the participants in the tournament will be former French Open doubles champion and current coach of Syracuse women’s tennis team Luke Jensen.