Meeting House Square in Dublin’s Temple Bar will be turned into a mini Roland Garros or Wimbledon Centre Court today as Tennis Ireland and BNP Paribas launch their first ever National Tennis Day to take place on July 7th.
Each of more than 200 clubs will be supported and encouraged to put on open days and special events to attract people back to the sport.  The BNP Paribas National Tennis Day comes hot on the heels of the two weeks of coverage from Wimbledon that traditionally sparks a summer revival on courts.
Conor Niland, Sam Barry and Amy Botwell will be on hand in Temple Bar today to take on kids and adults in knock up games on four mini courts constructed where people would normally sit and watch the world go by.
“Tennis plays a central role in our development strategy,” said Gilles de Decker, Head of BNP Paribas in Dublin.  “We use it to promote and grow our brand across the world.”
“Tennis embodies many of the values embraced by BNP Paribas, anchored in teamwork, competition, fair play, diversity, inclusiveness and the pleasure of being a player.”
BNP Paribas sponsors the National Tennis Academy which identifies and nurtures young talent in the sport.  It also announced on Monday that it would extend its 40 year partnership with the French Open tennis major for another five years.