HispanicBusiness

HONG KONG and NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 02/28/13 -- BNP Paribas will this year for the first time be simultaneously partnering two exciting tennis Showdown events -- in Hong Kong and New York -- on March 4, designated World Tennis Day. Sponsor of the BNP Paribas Showdown in New York City since 2008, the Group has just renewed its title sponsorship for another three years until 2016 and will now also be partnering an Asian version of the head-to-head contests on the same day. The Bank has committed to supporting this event for two years, with the possibility of further extension.

Organised by StarGames Inc., the BNP Paribas Showdown in Asia marks the return of elite world tennis to Hong Kong. Agnieska Radwanska vs Caroline Wozniacki and John McEnroe vs Ivan Lendl will be showing off their skills during exhibition matches in front of 6,000 spectators at the AsiaWorld Arena.

On the same day, over in the United States, the 6th annual BNP Paribas Showdown will be taking place in New York City. Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka will write a new page in tennis history in front of 18,000 spectators at the legendary Madison Square Garden.

"The BNP Paribas Showdown in New York has proved itself a real success, due to the sheer quality of the event," underlined Michele Sicard, Managing Director of Corporate Communications, BNP Paribas Americas, adding: "All the ingredients are there to ensure a unique sporting attraction for tens of thousands of fans. We are delighted that, over these last five years, the BNP Paribas brand, an international leader in banking and financial services, has been associated with an occasion as popular as this. And now we can hardly wait to extend the experience to the Showdown being organised in Hong Kong. Like the United States, Asia Pacific is a territory in which BNP Paribas has serious ambitions and it is one of our key aims to accelerate the growing awareness of our brand there. Our tennis sponsorship will certainly help us to achieve that aim by sharing some unforgettable moments with the general public."

Jerry Solomon, President and CEO of Stargames commented: "BNP Paribas has been with us since we started at Madison Square Garden in 2008, first as one of the sponsors and then as the title sponsor. They have been instrumental in supporting the growth of the Showdown in New York which has been a key factor in our being able to begin the expansion of the BNP Paribas Showdown and World Tennis Day around the world starting with this year's BNP Paribas Showdown in Hong Kong. We look forward to working closely with them in the coming years as we grow these platforms together."

In partnering the Showdown in New York since 2008, and now also its twin event in Hong Kong, BNP Paribas is reaffirming its loyalty and spirit of innovation to the world of tennis. These two major tennis events are an important part of BNP Paribas' commitment to tennis all over the world, not least in the United States, where the Group already sponsors two tournaments in California, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford. Just 40 years ago this year, BNP Paribas took its first steps into tennis sponsorship when, in 1973, the Bank became the official sponsor of the French Open at Roland Garros. Today, BNP Paribas is the world's number one partner of tennis.