As only the luxury inspired marketing mavens at Goodwood could do, Rolls-Royce secured one of the highly-coveted sponsorships for the Tennis Classic held at The Royal Albert Hall, from Thursday the 30th of November, until Sunday, the 3rd of December.
The one-of-a-kind sporting fête featured a number of tennis legends including French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero, two-time US Open winner Pat Rafter, former World No.1 Marat Safin, 1984 Roland-Garros Doubles champion and current Celebrity MasterChef semi-finalist Henri Leconte, and—of course—British fan-favourite, Tim Henman.
In addition to the event being a fantastic opportunity for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London to entertain a bevy of clients during the busy Christmas season, The Classic also doubled as a wonderful opportunity for the brand to showcase some of its finest carriages by chauffeuring players throughout the tournament.
Each day of the event featured two sessions of tennis—one in the afternoon, and in the evening—with the complete playing schedule as follows:
THURSDAY AFTERNOON
1:30pm – 4:30pm
Malisse v Rafter
Leconte/Rusedski v Ferreira/Santoro
THURSDAY EVENING
7:30pm – 10:30pm
Ferrero v Philippoussis
Bahrami/Safin v Pernfors/Rusedski
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
1:30pm – 4:30pm
Philippoussis v Santoro
Ferrero/Leconte v Ferreira/Rafter
FRIDAY EVENING
7:30pm – 10:30pm
Malisse v Safin
Bahrami/Santoro v Pernfors/Rusedski
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
1pm – 4pm
Ferrero v Santoro
Bahrami/Ferreira v Philippoussis/Pernfors
SATURDAY EVENING
6pm – 9pm
Rafter v Safin
Leconte/Rusedski v Ferriera/Malisse
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
12pm – 3pm
ATP Champions Tour 3rd v 4th Playoff
Ferreira/Leconte v Pernfors/ (3rd Group B)
SUNDAY EVENING
5pm – 8pm
ATP Champions Tour Final
Bahrami/ (3rd Group A) v Pernfors/Rusedski
Though less competitive than other events on the ATP Tour, The Tennis Classic at The Royal Albert Hall has been accepted with open arms by tennis greats for its uniqueness and outright entertainment value.
As described by the great Pat Rafter, “I always look forward to playing in London…there is no court quite like The Royal Albert Hall, [and it] has become a real highlight in the calendar for me.”
