Emirates served up a series of aces for young tennis fans during the inaugural Emirates Day at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Emirates is the official airline of the tournament, which is the biggest tennis competition outside of the four Grand Slams. To mark the three-year sponsorship deal, the airline has launched a series of initiatives aimed at benefiting youth tennis programmes in the US.
One of these is the Emirates Racquet Return programme, which encourages fans to trade in lightly used tennis racquets at special collection bins. All racquets collected throughout the fortnight will be donated to the LA84 Foundation Youth Tennis Program, a Southern California organisation working with kids to instil a love for the game of tennis.
Southern California Tennis Association Executive Director Henry Talbert said, “We are so pleased that Emirates has generously arranged this racquet return programme to benefit the LA84 Foundation. This organization provides children with an opportunity to learn and play the game, as well as to develop good sportsmanship skills.â€
As part of Emirates’ continued commitment to youth sports education, the airline also facilitated a kids’ tennis clinic during Emirates Day. One hundred children from four Southern Californian community groups were treated to a special workshop led by professional tennis players. After honing their skills on the court, the children had the opportunity to see some of the world’s top players in action with tickets to watch the afternoon’s round two matches.
It wasn’t just kids putting in the practice however. The Emirates’ inflatable fastest serve game will run throughout the tournament and has already proved a huge hit, with tennis fans of all ages flocking to put their serving skills to the test.
Emirates’ sponsorship of the BNP Paribas Open is the airline’s third major sports sponsorship in the United States. The carrier is already the Official Airline of the USA Rugby National Sevens Teams and a Premier Partner of the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup. Emirates is also a strong supporter of tennis worldwide, sponsoring the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Dubai Tennis Championship in its home city.
Emirates airline currently flies daily from Dubai to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston and twice daily to New York.
For more information about Emirates’ sponsorships, visit www.emirates.com.
For more information about the BNP Paribas Open, visit www.bnpparibasopen.org.
