Longines - Elegant Tennis
Paris in the springtime is always a treat, but it's even more spectacular when the city welcomes the world's best tennis players to its first-class facility Roland Garros for the clay court Grand Slam tournament.
One of the main sponsors of this tournament is Swiss watch brand Longines. The 180-year-old company supports past, present and future champions of this elegant sport and simultaneously gives back to it.
Children of Tomorrow
Stefanie Graf was one of the game's absolute greats: among here achievements one finds 22 Grand Slam titles, six French Open titles, and the only Calendar Year Golden Slam. She took home this year's Longines Prize for Elegance, which was presented at a gala dinner held at the spectacular Grand Foyer du Theâtre National de Chaillot. The prize is awarded to a personality heading an association that helps disadvantaged citizens of our world. Graf's charity association, founded in 1998, is called Children of Tomorrow.
Children of Tomorrow works with children traumatized through war, violence and abuse and has offices in Hamburg. Kosovo and Eritrea. "Until today we have been able to reach and treat more than 8,000 children," Graf said during a press conference held at the Roland Garros Tenniseum.
Rising Stars
Additionally, Longines displays its fuzzy yellow heart for up-and-coming tennis players. The Longines Future Tennis Aces sees the Swiss watch company inviting 16 under-twelve tennis players who have worked their ways through grueling qualification tournaments to play the final draw on the grounds of Roland Garros during the second week of the French Grand Slam. This year, girls from Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Britain and the United States competed there. The final, held on June 9 on Court 7, pitted Japan's Haruna Arakawa against Australia's Destanee Aiava - with the latter coming out on top.
Not only did the finalists get to play additional exhibition matches with Longines ambassador Graf, world-ranked number 15 Sabine Lisicki and doubles specialist Mansour Bahrami, but both will receive an annual sum of $2,000 from Longines from now until their sixteenth birthdays to help pay for tennis equipment and costs.
This day of dreams for the young tennis hopefuls ended with a press conference held in Roland Garros's tennis museum, during which Aiava received a Saint-Imier collection watch.
Graf, who received the Longines Prize for Elegance during the evening gala, wore an elegant 26 mm stainless steel and rose gold two-tone Saint-Imier Collection model set with 60 diamonds and a mother-of-pearl dial in addition to her rather minimalist jewelry. Both she and her husband Andre Agassi are Longines ambassadors of elegance. "The importance of quality, performance and attention to detail are values I admire in Longines," Graf said. "Longines is also a great partner in supporting the foundations of Andre and I, aiding in broadening our missions and messages."
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