Kolkata, March 16, 2017: The ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ returns to India for its third edition which will be played across three cities. The tournament gets underway with the first qualifier in Kolkata followed by the second in Pune. The final culmination of the tournament will take place in New Delhi. The City of Joy will be hosting the first leg of the qualifiers from 20th to 25th March 2017, followed by the 2nd leg in Pune from 29th March to 1st April 2017.
The tournament confirms Roland Garros’ and AITA’S collaborative effort to organize grassroots championships of international repute in India and foster the development of clay court tennis to find future stars. Kolkata’s historic Dakshin Kalikata Sansad and Pune’s PYC Gymkhana shall witness the qualifiers under the supervision of experienced French coach Bernard Pestrewho is the Deputy Technical Director of FFT and heads their “Formation and Enseignement” (Training and Education) Department. The two cities have been instrumental in producing many young talents who have represented the nation in the junior levels. The qualifiers will give an opportunity to U 18 players to have a MasterClass under the guidance of Pestre, who has been associated with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) since 1984.
A clinic will also be conducted for the media with the aim of promoting clay court tennis. ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ has served as a perfect platform for budding tennis talents from India as they get the opportunity to compete against the best from USA, Japan, China, Brazil and South Korea. Further, the winners of the competition will get a chance to participate in the Junior French Open as wild-card entrants.
“Over the years, India has consistently produced good talent. The ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ aims to propel the upcoming talent in a way which would put the country on the world map. It also gives the youngsters a great chance of learning about clay courts, and potentially going on to excel at the French Open in future,” said President of FFT Bernard Giudicelli.
Unwavering support from AITA, Bengal Tennis Association and The Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association has successfully ensued the commencement of Rendez-vous a Roland Garros in partnership with Longines becomes an event to remember.
The city qualifiers will see top talent vying for a spot in the Masters’ event which will be played in New Delhi on 18th and 19th April 2017.