One last forehand and the title is his. Roland-Garros has just re-crowned his king. Double for the English champion. William Foster wins the Porte d’Auteuil tournament for the second year in a row. Don’t you know him? It’s almost normal. In the alleys of Roland-Garros, despite its large size, it goes unnoticed. No fans turning around or stopping him for an autograph.
It must be said that William is the king of clay, but he traded the racket for the smartphone. His own tennis court is Tennis Clash, a mobile game with millions of players. And the Briton is even the best at the moment there, winner of the Roland-Garros eSeries, the esports tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation. After winning in 2022, Ƒøzzу, as he is nicknamed, won for the second time in the final against Chinese Shenghao He (10-8, 10-9, 10-8).
And William has become the terror of the virtual courts, already winner of the Australian Open Tennis Clash at the beginning of the year. “We had 400,000 participants in the online tournament,” explains Aymeric Labaste, director of international operations for Roland-Garros at the FFT, who hopes to push the tournament into new terrain. “Here are the eight best that have been found, with a great diversity of profiles.”
E-sport, a new way of promoting Roland-Garros
Because in addition to the six qualifying players, the Roland-Garros eSeries also invited the winners of the tournaments reserved for women and supervised by the Women in Games association and players with disabilities, a tournament organized by Handigamers. “We wanted the most inclusive tournament possible for this sixth edition”, says Aymeric Labaste.
With this opening to electronic sports, Roland-Garros is also offering an additional showcase, online. Because the competition was broadcast on the Twitch channel of streamer Ravenzi, also featuring another streamer known to young audiences, Little Big Whale, and former French player Gilles Simon, the yellow ball guarantee of the competition. It is also a way of addressing a more connected audience that does not necessarily go to the stadium.
By looking for players on mobile, the FFT thus shows its openness to new media, without losing its “professional” side. Because these e-players have a very similar preparation. From their arrival, they were treated almost like the players on the professional circuit in the race to lift the Internationaux de France trophies.
“There is not only this part of the video game. They arrived two days before the competition. They had sessions around various topics, to know how to respond to the media, prepare physically with cognitive and physical tests, etc.
A test more mental than physical
If the players train and play throughout the year on the smartphone or tablet of their choice, in order to keep the competition fair, the organizers have provided everyone with the same device: the Oppo Find X5 Pro. The brand is a sponsor of Roland- Garros and its top-of-the-range smartphone also shines for its tactile responsiveness on the screen, a fundamental factor for gamers. Each one has their own strategy to refine their shots, a pot of talc or magnesia placed on the table so that their fingers glide better over the slab.
And don’t think that just passing the ball with your fingertips is enough to be a champion. “There is a very strategic part in Tennis Clash”, recalls Aymeric Labaste. “The fact of being a tennis player will help in the trajectories and tactics of the game. If you are not a player, these are reflexes that you do not necessarily have and that will take time to acquire.”
And Williams Foster added: “It’s like chess. You have to be 5-6 moves ahead. I also play it a lot, I think it helps me to anticipate”. According to the champion, mental preparation takes precedence over physical ones, although he admits that it is also necessary to “be alert, alert and have very good reflexes”.
Head to the Paris Olympics
For this new title on his list, the British pocketed 3,500 euros, far from the bonuses reserved for future winners of the Internationals. With the title in his pocket, William can now move on to his next challenge: the Olympic title in Singapore. This is where the first Olympic Esports Week decreed by the International Olympic Committee will take place from June 22 to 25. A prelude to what will take place next year for the Paris Games. On the programme: virtual competitions in cycling, baseball, sailing… and therefore tennis.
William doesn’t want to put pressure on himself and is preparing for this tournament like any other. But with the prospect of a new kind of crown, the first of its kind, the game was presented as a competitive title. Another debate between the usual well-known e-sports games like Counter-Strike:GO, Valorant or League of Legends, and the less conventional sports games, in which you don’t want to start, all happy to have qualified even if you know you still there is a long way to go. For him, as for his discipline.
Source: BFM TV
