Tennis: "I look at my players and a little at the others"... At the Petits As de Tarbes, these teenagers are already almost pros

From our special correspondent in Tarbes,

Since last August and the departure of his youngest son for the Pôle France de Poitiers, under the leadership of the Federation (FFT), Christian Witz no longer sees Antonin, 13, except very sporadically. So the Mulhousien, territorial agent, did not hesitate to take a week off to cross France and come and follow the son to the Petits As de Tarbes. This Tuesday, both respond to a handful of journalists on the mezzanine overlooking the Parc des Expositions of the Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture, where the unofficial World Cup for 12-14 year olds has been disputed since 1983.

Nothing to destabilize the teenager, who has just subdued the Kazakh Zangar Nurlanuly, seeded n ° 4, on a central court where the Djokovic, Federer, Hingis or Henin fought long before him. "I didn't know him, but they told me about him to tell me that he was playing well and that a good fight was waiting for me", slips the still frail teenager, fan of Rafael Nadal (winner here in 2000) , that his rhythm of life shifted compared to his age makes mature in accelerated.

Unthinkable to say more, for fear of being stung the rare pearl. However, you don't need to be a great specialist to see that some already have a flattering reputation. Like Laura Samsonova, seeded n° 2, followed by a good dozen people, including members of the Rafa Nadal Academy, in Manacor, where she spends several weeks a year. Like some of her colleagues, the 13-year-old Czech blonde, quarter-finalist here in 2021, already has an agent, Ugo Colombini.

“I watch my players, how they progress, details the Italian based in Monaco, who regrets with a smile having more and more competition. I look a little at the others too, there are quite a few that I discover…” But what is the use of an agent for such young athletes? “We become the family advisor for the career of the children, the training, the programming of the tournaments, the commercial part. More and more, they follow the school from a distance. »

Ksenia Efremova, new Kournikova?

No screaming costume or shiny gold chain. The tennis agent is discreet. But there are bound to be some among the coffee or sandwich consumers chatting around a table in the central hall, in front of the giant screen which broadcasts the Australian Open in the morning.

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“12 agent companies are present, explains Jean-Claude Knaebel (85), co-founder and co-director, with his wife Claudine and his brother-in-law Jacques Dutrey, of the tournament with 180 volunteers and a budget of 950,000 euros. They come to do their shopping. But already, at the time, Richard Gasquet [winner in 1999] had been taken by IMG [company of agents] and Anna Kournikova [titled in 1994] by Adidas. Today, there is a 12-year-old Russian girl, Ksenia Efremova, who looks a lot like her, in terms of nerve and physique. She is already at Nike for clothes and at Yonex for rackets. »

The resident of the Mouratoglou Academy in Biot, near Antibes, proclaims her desire to quickly become world number 1. If the player born in 2009, outclassed by a year, was knocked out in the second round this year, she belongs to the elite of her category, and is already attracting sponsors and the media.

“In some areas, these young people are already a bit pro, judge Gilles Moretton, president of the FFT present Tuesday in Tarbes with part of his staff. Some will really become it, others will remain good club players. “The tricolor tennis boss does not attack the private academies present in force at Les Petits As and with which there are “bridges”. But he defends a less elitist logic for the "360 young people followed and accompanied all over France, from 10 to 18 years old" of which necessarily only a part will make a career.

Only, private or public, the family of an aspiring professional must deal with an intangible fact: tennis is expensive. “At some point, the [regional] League, the [departmental] committee, the Federation or sponsors must come to help, slips Moretton. Contrary to the image we have, it is not necessarily rich people who play tennis. »

A season at 40,000 euros

The Witz family, reassured to have remained under federal control with a “double sports and school project”, has thus made its accounts. "Last year, the season cost 40,000 euros," reveals Christian, Antonin's father. Crowdfunding has even been launched to support the Alsatian hope, whose Tarbais course ended on Wednesday, against the American Keaton Hance, while the Czech Samsonova traced her route.

“It is not necessarily important to be strong right now, anticipated Christian Witz on Tuesday. Lots of players have won here and never done anything. " Just. Who remembers the Spaniard Carlos Boluda, twice titled in 2006 and 2007, while in their time, Federer and Djokovic had respectively stalled in the 8th and quarter-finals?

A trophy, but no money at stake

Nevertheless: if shining in Bigorre is certainly not a guarantee of success among the big boys, the Petits As remain "the place to be” for teenagers in search of glory, as confided by all the people from the tennis world who met at the Parc des Expos.

And that will continue, even if Jean-Claude Knaebel and his team will hand over at the end of this 40th edition. "The tournament was created by a family from Tarbes and we want it to stay in Tarbes for life", asserts the co-founder of an event launched in 1983 "with four nations, a caravan and a court". Since the event has grown, teenage tennis has become more professional, but there is still no question of "prize money": "The only difference between those who lose in the first qualifying round and the winner of the final is the trophy. »