BNP Paribas launched “Team Young Talents” in Japan, a first in the Asia-Pacific region – Supporting the development of future tennis players with Daisuke Arai as the ambassador
- “Team BNP Paribas Young Talents Japan with JTA” programme launches in Japan to help develop the next generation of players who are passionate about tennis in partnership with the Japan Tennis Association
- Daisuke Arai, BNP Paribas employee athlete wheelchair tennis player, is appointed as the ambassador of the programme
- BNP Paribas celebrates its 50th anniversary this year as a major partner of all forms of tennis – co-creating a positive impact with tennis
BNP Paribas launched the “Team Young Talents” in France in 2018 with providing physical and mental support to the players who will lead the future of the tennis world, and developing them into world top-level players. The programme supports players with both on and off-court learning opportunities and have produced 160 emerging talents from France, Belgium, the United States, Italy, Canada and Poland. In the past, famous players such as former professional tennis players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Justine Henin, and John McEnroe, have passed on their knowledge and skills to the next generation of players and provided support to help them achieve their dreams. The next generation of players is already emerging.
Junior tournament results
This time, BNP Paribas has expanded the programme to Japan, for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to helping develop the next generation of Japanese players, the programme will also deepen support to promote tennis in Japan so as to bring everyone together, and tie them to tennis profoundly.
As a major partner supporting all forms of tennis for every generation in Japan, we will continue to work towards the next 50 years of transformations in tennis.
Comments by Toshihisa Tsuchihashi, Senior Executive Director of the Japan Tennis Association
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful project, “Team Young Talents” We will do our best as Team Japan!
Comments by Daisuke Arai, ambassador of “Team BNP Paribas Young Talents Japan with JTA”
I am extremely happy and honored to be the first ambassador for Japan in the Asia-Pacific region. For us to be competitive on the global stage as a top player, we have to work on reinforcing not only physical training, but also other aspects like mental healthcare and maintenance in a well-balanced manner in order to develop the strength to survive overseas tournaments in various environments. I have also experienced difficulties in terms of wheelchair skill training and the physical training for operating a wheelchair. While I am still in the middle of learning, I would like to pass on my experiences to the future generation and further popularize tennis in Japan.
Profile of Daisuke Arai
Daisuke Arai was born in Tokyo and works for BNP Paribas. He has a congenital tibial deficiency of the right lower leg and has been using a prosthetic leg since the age of two. He began playing soft tennis with a prosthetic leg in junior high school and served as a captain of the soft tennis club in both junior high school and technical college. He encountered wheelchair tennis when he was working as a salesperson for an assistive device manufacturer. He started participating in overseas matches as a BNP Paribas player in 2017. He won singles titles in six tournaments in 2019, including the Slovakia Open and the Taipei Open, which racketed his world ranking. Then, he was selected to represent Japan at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021. Continuing to steadily improve his rankings, he participated in the Grand Slam Australian Open followed by the French Open for the first time in 2023. His world rankings are 10th in singles and 12th in doubles (as of July 10, 2023).
BNP Paribas and Tennis
We marks 50 years of our support and commitment to tennis.
About BNP Paribas & Tennis
In 2023, BNP Paribas celebrates 50 years of sponsorship of tennis, going back to 1973. The Group’s support covers all levels and dimensions of the game all over the world, including singles, doubles, team tennis, wheelchair tennis and family tennis, ranging from beginners’ training to top professional tournaments.
Sponsorships as of May 2023
- Professional Tennis:
Official sponsor of the French Open at Roland-Garros; title sponsor of three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments – the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open) in Rome; partner to the Open 13 (Marseille), the Open Parc de Lyon Open, the Metz Moselle Open, Queens Championships ; TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, BNP Paribas Poland Open - Wheelchair Tennis:
BNP Paribas World Team Cup ; French Riviera Open ; WJP Challenge Tennis, Swiss Open Genève ; - Junior & University Tennis and Academies:
Master’U BNP Paribas; - Amateur Tennis:
Sponsors of the BNP Paribas Family Trophy; also supporting over 1,000 amateur tournaments around the world. - The next generations:
BNP Paribas supports over 130 deserving young tennis and wheelchair tennis players, through its ‘Team BNP Paribas Young Talents’ programmes in France (with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the French Tennis Federation), in the United States (with John and Patrick McEnroe), in Italy, In Belgium, in Poland and Canada; also partner of the Roland-Garros ball-kids selections for over 20 years. In 2023, we have partnered with the Japan Tennis Association to launch the programme in Japan with Daisuke Arai as the ambassador. - Solidarity tennis:
Supporting a number of original tennis related social engagement projects, through partnerships with more than 20 national tennis federations and dozens of tennis-based charity organisations: ‘#FAAPointsForChange‘ with Félix Auger-Aliassime; ‘Fête le Mur’ with Yannick Noah; the ‘Aces Du Cœur‘ charity programme for hospitalised children; the ‘Sound of Tennis‘ initiative for visually impaired athletes in the United States; the Israel Wheelchair Tennis Project; - Tennis e-sport:
‘Roland-Garros e-Series by BNP Paribas’, an e-sport tournament played all over the world as part of the ‘Tennis World Tour’ video game. - Employee tennis:
the ‘BNP Paribas We Are Tennis Cup’ is one of the largest global employee tennis tournaments in the world (3,500 participants each year). - Initiatives for tennis fans
Having entered into all these partnerships, in 2011 BNP Paribas set up a programme called We Are Tennis, whose purpose is to promote interest in the game of tennis all over the world. The wearetennis.com website and its social network accounts bring together a community of tennis lovers and dedicated fans from all continents who are keen to obtain the latest news from the ATP, WTA and ITF circuits. Furthermore, in 2015 BNP Paribas created the We Are Tennis Fan Academy, which enables fans to express their passion for tennis as never before. BNP Paribas also supports local tennis through crowdfunding campaigns designed to finance projects in France.