The French Open officially wrapped up this past weekend with 11-time champion Rafael Nadal and first-time winner Simona Halep closing out their respective matches on the iconic red clay of Roland Garros. Like it has for the past decade, Longines sat in a prestigious position as a premier sponsor and official timekeeper for the international tournament.
This year’s Longines Future Tennis Aces youth tournament took place underneath the Eiffel Tower.
One detail about Longines’s involvement with the French Open that many tennis fans and watch enthusiasts are unaware of is that while the world watches the professional matches over at Roland Garros, Longines hosts a second clay tennis competition concurrently in Paris. The Longines Future Tennis Aces pits 40 boys and girls under the age of 13 from 20 different countries against one another in a three-day competition. It has existed since 2010 and provides a wonderful opportunity for these teenagers and pre-teens to compete in a world-class, athletic atmosphere. This year, the two winners were Kilian Feldbausch from Switzerland and Victoria Jimenez from Spain who dominated the opening, round-robin-style matches before moving on to win the eight-seed tournament. Former professional tennis players Alex Corretja and Arantxa Sanchez served as patrons for the youth tournament, spending time with the players and offering advice as they moved through their matches. Juan Carlos Capelli, Andre Agassi, Arantxa Sanch...