The idea of organizing an international tennis tournament in Valais came to me during the Covid period. The first objective was to give the young players of Swiss and Valaisans tennis an opportunity to play at home because traveling was difficult at that time.
The other objectives were to stimulate the local economy on a small scale through a sporting event, to motivate young people to play sports, to bring together the various generations through sport and to bring smiles to people's faces in a difficult period.
After two successful editions at the Tennis-Club de Sierre, which I would like to thank on this occasion, we have decided to move to Sion to the magnificent facilities of the Tennis-Club de Valère. Our wish being to always progress and grow, the dynamism of the club and its president as well as the unique facilities in Valais with 6 outdoor clay courts convinced us to make this decision.
To organize an event of this size you need strong partners. I would like to thank our main sponsor AXA Assurance, our other strong partners, Swiss Tennis, La Ville de Sion, Raiffeisen Sion-Sierre, Rhône FM, La Maison Gilliard SA and Domaines Chevaliers SA, Fourteen SA and TC Valere. Most have been there from the start.
Without them and the help of our volunteers nothing would be possible. THANKS everyone!
In Switzerland we were very spoiled by our tennis players. Thanks to our exceptional athletes, winning titles on the ATP and WTA circuits as well as in Grand Slam tournaments has been commonplace for 20 years. It's fantastic for our sport but sometimes it penalizes smaller tournaments
like the AXA Open in Sion. But be aware that you will see high level tennis in Valais. To give you an idea, the 2021 winner of the tournament the Australian Rinky Hijikata played exactly 12 months after his title in Sierre on the central of the US Open against Rafael Nadal, match which he lost in 4 sets. This year in January he won the Australian Open in doubles. He is currently 120th in the world in singles and 35th in the world in doubles.
The Swiss next generation also passes through the Valais, the best example is Leandro Riedi who played our tournament in the past and is currently at the gates of the world top 100. I am sure he will thrill us all in the future.
Take your chance and come in large numbers to see the stars of tomorrow in Sion. Admission is free and the show is of very high quality.
Yves Allegro
Tournament Director