On April 4 and 5, 2025, Gaël Monfils and Co will be present for a promising show.
Three decades after its last appearance on clay… in the Nîmes arenas, the little yellow ball will bounce there again, on Friday April 4 and Saturday April 5, 2025, on the occasion of the UTS (Ultimate tennis showdown), created by Patrick Mouratoglou.
On May 5, 1991, in the cold and wind, Forget, Leconte and Santoro set the arenas ablaze, eliminating Australia in the Davis Cup quarter-final before lifting the silver bowl at the beginning of December.
The century, the era and the actors have changed. But not only that… The rules of the UTS game also have nothing to do with the ATP (see box).
Patrick Mouratoglou ”delighted to be in a legendary place”
Taking a look at the 2025 calendar for a competition created in 2020, we can see that Nîmes figures prominently alongside Frankfurt, London, Oslo, New York and Guadalajara!
”In my opinion, I found it quite appropriate, even touching for the people of Nîmes, to be able to relive an event of this magnitudeunderlines, recalling this day in May 1991, the CEO of the Bastide Médical Group Vincent Bastide, partner of UTS. As a teenager, I experienced tennis tournaments in this city, notably the Philipps Tournament. (from 1986 to 1989)where Leconte, Becker had come.”
UTS, above all else, is ”a story of men, through a meeting between Jérémy Chardy (world No. 25 in 2013) et Patrick Mouratoglou”continues the business leader.
The arenas, for an avant-garde show
”Bastide Médical is a partner who played the game 100% and is extremely motivatedcontinues Mouratoglou. With the UTS, we are delighted to be in France, in a legendary place, the arenas (€259,650 rental)which makes the event even more magical. When we showed the photos of the place to the players, they said: “wow….”
”Being able to put the arenas as a venue for a very avant-garde event will, in a certain way, denote what exists today in the ATP circuit”assures Bastide.
We’re coming there. ATP is one thing, UTS is another. ”It’s a league parallel to the ATP, which has a different functionexplains its founder. That of recruiting a new fan base for tennis.”
Monfils, Rublev, Ruud, Humbert out!
The UTS aims to ”also rejuvenate the public of a sport which has followed the evolution of its ageindicates Bastide. This is a bit of the challenge that we set ourselves and I hope that we will achieve it.
If all roads lead to Rome, those of Gaël Monfils – winner of the New York stage in August – Rublev (world no. 6), Ruud (no. 9) and Ugo Humbert (no. 15, no. 1 French), to name only them for the moment, will lead them to the arenas. ‘
‘This trophy, with the Lightning of Zeus, says everything one can imagine, this place lending itself so well to the event. Everything comes together really well”conclut Mouratoglou. The Show must go on !
UTS, a new way of seeing tennis
WHAT IS UTS? ”When we created the UTS, in 2020, we said to ourselves that if we had to create tennis today, knowing what we know about people’s consumer world, it would look like this… ”estime Mouratoglou ; ”that”, these are new rules: 4 quarters of 8′ – 3 to win to win the match – all points scored, only one serve, 15” between each point, sudden death, no more rallies , no more… warm-up before matches, players and coaches interviewed in the middle of a match with live feedback on side changes, the public who can show up during the exchanges…
”In fact, sport is a communion between the public and the athletes and, to commune, you have to express emotionsnotes Mouratoglou. This is the end of ‘silence, please’. Tennis is the only sport in the world where you pay for a ticket and are told to shut up. There won’t be that at UTS. The public has the right to express themselves, to move, to stand up…” Welcome to the world of UTS.
PRICES – Prices for places will range from €12 (Friday; €15, Saturday) for a place at the top of the arenas (free seating) to €280 (€340) for one, on a platform. Going through €19 (24) in category 3; €57 (€71) in 2; €104 (129) in 4 and €200 (240) in 1.
