BNP Paribas to sponsor for “LOVE ALL MATCH by BNP Paribas” – Helping to achieve dreams through tennis
- Chaired by wheelchair tennis player Daisuke Arai, para-athlete of BNP Paribas.
- The “BNP Paribas Team Young Talents,” a program to develop next-generation players, for which he serves as ambassador, is also fully launched.
BNP Paribas, who celebrates 50 years of the commitment to tennis sponsored for the “LOVE ALL MATCH by BNP Paribas”. The tennis event was held on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities to support children’s dreams to come true. ‘BNP Paribas Team Young Talents with JTA (“Team Young Talents”)’, a programme driven by BNP Paribas to develop the next generation of players, has also fully launched with our full commitment for development of tennis.
At BNP Paribas, diversity forms the core of our commitment. BNP Paribas Japan holds world-class para-athlete staffs including Daisuke Arai, on this commitment for diversity. Through this tennis event, BNP Paribas further commit to help promoting an understanding of disability, and raise awareness of the challenges involved in addition to support the development of tennis. This will allow us to help create an inclusive society where every one of us can share and participate in, and can pursue our dreams.
■Event overview
【Date & time】 3rd December, 2023
【Place】 Ebara Shonan Sports Center (SSC)
【Organizer】 104Tennis K.K. (LOVE ALL PROJECT)
【Special sponsor】 BNP Paribas
【Sponsor】 YONEX Co., Ltd.
【Supporting organisation】
Fujisawa City, The Fujisawa Chamber of Commerce & Industry
【Program】
AM: Tennis clinic including wheelchair tennis with professionals
PM: LOVE ALL MATCH tournament
- Adult and Junior mixed doubles
- Women’s Pro vs Men’s Pro Singles
- New mixed tennis (Doubles with wheelchair player)
- Wheelchair Pro and Wheelchair Junior doubles
【Participating players】
- Daisuke Arai, para-athlete of BNP Paribas
- Kaito Uesugi, tennis professional
- Miyu Kato, tennis professional
- Takashi Sanada, wheelchair tennis professional
- Rio Noguchi, tennis professional
- Toshihide Matsui, tennis professional
- Mai Minokoshi, former tennis professional
The event was programmed in two parts for all children to enjoy playing tennis at all forms, levels and physical conditions. In the first part, the children enjoyed the play coached by professionals. In the second part, tournaments were held in unique combinations such as mix genders and with juniors, wheelchair players. The special tournaments arranged for the event brought a constant excitement throughout the tournaments.
Launch of “Team Young Talents” in Japan
BNP Paribas rolled out this program as the first country in Asia Pacific in partnership with the Japan Tennis Association. The program is aimed to navigate players who will lead the future in tennis by providing opportunities both from physical and mental over the next two years. In addition to lessons by ambassador, Daisuke Arai and private coaches, the program will be consisted with training camps and online learning sessions which focuses on ‘bodybuilding’ to improve performance (such as nutrition and science of sleep), ‘champion education’ to define each player’s personalized future vision and guide them to it, and ‘financial education’ to give them an education from finance perspective.
The 4 players of the “Young Talent Team” (Japanese alphabetical order)
・Age and reason you started playing tennis:
6 years old. I started tennis because my older brother was playing it and I admired him
・The first thing you learned about tennis:
I have learned to observe the others to consider their feelings
・Your favourite player: Serena Williams
・Age and reason you started playing tennis:
5 years old. I played tennis for the first time at my kindergarten’s tennis class, which was held several times a year, and it was so much fun that I started it
・The first thing you learned about tennis:
Once you enter the court for a match, you are on your own against your opponent, and you’ll have to find your countermeasures in such cases that you are not playing well, you are not getting the points, or the game is not proceeding in the way you would like. There have been times when my knees were shaking when I had to hit the second serve because it was a situation where I would lose if I lost this point.
I know that there are people cheering me on off the court, but I think I have become mentally stronger by successfully overcoming such situations on my own, as well as those that I could not
・Your favourite player: Ashleigh Barty
・Age and reason you started playing tennis:
2 years old. I started tennis because my parents were playing it
・The first thing you learned about tennis:
The importance of daily practice
・Your favourite player: Roger Federer
・Age and reason you started playing tennis:
4 years old. I started learning tennis when I saw middle school students playing it in a nearby park
・The first thing you learned about tennis:
The joy of working hard toward a goal. Improving one’s skills is a never-ending journey. Thinking not only about oneself but also about one’s opponent. The depth of formulating and implementing a game plan. The difficulty of planning and doing everything by yourself on the court
・Your favorite player: Roger Federer
【Official Partner of BNP Paribas Team Young Talents】 Japan Tennis Association
【Official ambassador of Team Young Talents in Japan】Daisuke Arai
Comments by Daisuke Aria, BNP Paribas employee athlete
I am extremely happy that I was able to deliver smiles to the children through this event. 2023 is a year that has granted me the opportunity to take on many new experiences such as the appointment of the ambassador for “Team Young Talents.”
My goal – not only for tennis but also for my life – is to continue challenging myself. I hope that my play brings smiles and courage to many people; I want them to overcome difficulties in their lives and pursue their dreams. I would like to be able to continue supporting all children to ‘be themselves’ and to ‘make their dreams come true’.