Rising Star tennis to extend reach to more children in SA

BNP Paribas RCS Rising Star Tennis has announced that it will extend the reach to more children and schools to make a bigger difference through social development initiatives as the programme returns for a highly anticipated third edition in 2022.

This comes after the official sponsor of the French Open at Roland Garros, title sponsor of the Fed Cup and major other tournament and their wholly owned consumer finance subsidiary RCS announced their continued commitment to the partnership with Tennis South Africa (TSA).

Launched in 2019, the Tennis SA development project involved over 2 000 children and nearly 400 primary schools.

After a break in 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the series returned last year, reaching over 3 000 children from nearly 800 schools in 40 districts around SA after the campaign was expanded to include high school and wheelchair tennis divisions.

Catering for primary, high school and wheelchair tennis players this year, the BNP Paribas RCS Rising Star Tennis series will target 1 200 schools as it continues to grow the sport of tennis through grassroots development which will take the game to the youth around the country, including disadvantaged communities.

This year’s focus will address the shortage of equipment and playing surfaces by including multiple tennis activations, with a focus on Namakwa (Northern Cape), Mafikeng (North-West). Ehlanzeni (Mpumalanga) and Central Karoo (Western Cape) where tennis equipment will be donated to schools in these communities to help them prepare for the series.

CEO of BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) South Africa, Kieran Fahy said they are delighted that the Rising Star Tennis Initiative will be continuing for a third year. 

“It has already achieved so much success in terms of growing grass roots tennis in South Africa.  Tennis is part of BNP Paribas’ DNA, and the Group supports many tennis initiatives across the world.”

CEO of RCS Group, Regan Adams said sport is one of the most crucial forms of social upliftment and mobility.

“We only need to look at the history of our country to understand the potential that sport holds to unite and uplift us. The Rising Star Initiative therefore perfectly aligns to our Social Responsibility focus of uplifting youths through sport.”  

This year’s campaign will support 24 schools around the country, including Baikagetse Primary School in Daveyton, with the sponsors having committed to providing equipment to create more opportunities for the youth in these communities.

Entries for the 2022 BNP Paribas RCS Rising Star Tennis series will open on 13 April and close on 31 May.

This year’s district and provincial events will be held across South Africa between June and October, and the Finals will be played between 4-6 November in Gauteng.

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