A bit after 4 p.m. on the Marseille Tennis Club, Marie Temin, 20e French participant has simply certified for the semi-finals of the event and but she should already reply questions from a slightly particular press convention. No lower than seventy kids, schoolchildren from 6e and eighte boroughs of the town lend themselves to the sport. The children take their function of journalist for a second very a lot to coronary heart, simply after leaving their function of tennis fan, the time of the sport they’ve simply admired on the court docket central.
The little women query the champion, particularly about her debut in tennis. ” At two and a half years old I had a racket in my hands. My idols were Mauresmo, Hénin “recalls with pleasure the 29-year-old Niçoise. She talks at length with the children and attaches importance to it: ” I see that they’re all and the ladies too, that makes me completely satisfied. I hope to have the ability to make them wish to begin or proceed this sport which is probably the most stunning on the planet. »
An extended method to go
If some younger women could register in a membership and even right here on the TCM like a third of the younger individuals within the tennis faculty, it’s once they develop up that they might sadly be compelled to cease. ” Often they have other activities that take them away from the field. We have to put these girls forward, that we frame them “says Nathalie Benvenister, president of the TCM, club” historically feminine for her and which includes a silver medalist at the 1924 Olympic Games, Julie Vlasto.
For this day, some members of the exclusively female tournament of the Blue Coast were present to also promote women’s tennis. In particular, they were tasked by Jocelyne Giraldi, tournament director, with promoting qualifications for the Open to talented young people in the region. ” It was a novelty on this version so as to add a qualification desk to focus on our Regionals. We had wager on forty individuals in the long run we solely had twelve, but there was potential “, she regrets.
Fortunately, the registered players have been putting on a great show since the beginning of the week. Enough to make women’s tennis shine a little more in Marseille. ” It’s rare to have an all-women’s tournament in France and what good does that do. There is also a nice endowment, which is also rare », replied Marie Temin enthusiastically after her quarter-final. Note that the big winner of the tournament will pocket a check for 8,000 euros, a “high” quantity for a non-category event.