Prince athletes and EXO3 racquets dominate at French Open Juniors

Bordentown, NJ (June 13, 2012) – While many tennis fans following the French Open are focused on the top pros, the activity in the Junior French Open event at Roland Garros provides a strong view of what the sport may look like tomorrow. The next generation of champions, their style of play, and the advanced weaponry they choose to arm themselves with continue to evolve to meet the demands of a sport that is continually getting bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic.

For the third straight junior Grand Slam event, Prince junior athletes and their Prince EXO3 racquets have risen to the top. In Paris, it was sheer dominance as 18-year-olds Kimmer Coppejans (EXO3 Rebel 95) and Annika Beck (EXO3 Tour Team 100) took home the Boys and Girls singles titles, respectively. In addition, 2010 US Open Girls singles champion Daria Gavrilova (EXO3 Tour Team 100) captured the Girls doubles title in Paris.

All these winners rely on Prince’s EXO3 racquets. With its non-traditional look and unique construction, the results continue to be proven.

“This was another very exciting and important weekend for us and we are extremely proud of what Kimmer, Annika, and Daria accomplished in Paris,” said Ruben Zrihen, European Player Development Manager at Prince. “These young athletes put the purest premium on their equipment, because they know how important having the best gear is to realizing their dream of having a career in professional tennis. Their success provides additional validation that our products and our technology generate real results and are becoming the choice among the most demanding, elite, next generation of young athletes.”

In fact, Prince junior athletes have quietly captured singles titles at three consecutive Grand Slam events, beginning with Oliver Golding who captured the US Open Boys title last August (with his Prince EXO3 Rebel 95). Golding has since captured two professional titles as he begins his career on Tour. More recently, U.S. player Taylor Townsend took home the 2012 Australian Open Girls singles and doubles titles at the age of 15 with her EXO3 Tour 100. In doing so, she became the number one ranked junior girl in the world.

Kimmer Coppejans, the most recent junior Grand Slam winner stated, “This has been an incredible few days for me and has given me the confidence to know that I can compete at this level. I watch the pros of today, but I am focused on putting my own mark on this sport and surrounding myself with the people and equipment I need to accomplish my goals. I am extremely happy to win the French Open and this is an incredible win and a dream for me. I really look forward to the grass court season and Wimbledon with all its tradition. My goal is to win the title there and to finish as the number one junior in the world.”

Aside from using Prince racquets, Coppejans also relies on the new Prince Rebel 2 LS footwear and Prince’s new revolutionary thermo-polyester string called Beast XP–the same new string that Golding, Townsend, and Gavrilova all used to capture their junior Grand Slam titles.

“I came to Roland Garros to play the Women's qualifiers. To win the Girls singles title is an incredible way to end my junior career,” said Beck. “Now, I will focus more on my WTA ranking, with the aim to reach top 100 in the world by the end of the year. I feel confident in my team, in my gear and am ready for the next challenge. Wimbledon qualifiers next week!”

The patented EXO3 design eliminates grommets to allow for ultimate string freedom. This allows all players, including those at the most elite levels of the game, to do more on balls they hit off center. Thousands of hours of high-speed, slow motion video show that all players, not just those beginning in the sport, hit the majority of their shots outside the center of the string bed. As the game gets faster, and athletes push each other to the outer limits of the court, with less reaction time, EXO3 allows them to hit better shots on balls they hit while on-the-run, off balance, or at full stretch.

“We are committed to providing everything athletes need to make their journey to the top,” said Zrihen. “They represent the future champions and it is exciting to support so many talented young players with products and technologies built for the game of tomorrow."