If you approach tennis enthusiasts who are lucky enough to travel the planet attending multiple tournaments and ask them which of these tournaments is their favorite, the answer may surprise you. Because while some will probably name you Wimbledon or Roland-Garros, many will also mention Indian Wells, home of the BNP Paribas Open, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season.
• Also read: Tennis: Russians and Belarusians can play at Wimbledon
After all, Indian Wells California — with no fewer than 500 palm trees on the grounds — is calm, sunshine. The tournament is also called “Tennis Paradise”…
And it’s a Charlesbourg-born Quebecer who is the chief marketing officer of the tournament, whose main draw games for both men and women have been played since Wednesday.
For Philippe Dore, who has immersed himself in the world of the little yellow ball since his youth, this job is a dream come true.
As a teenager, Mr. Dore played tennis at Club Avantage de Québec. The enthusiast was talented, so he got a scholarship to the University of North Florida, where he continued to play at a high level.
Not his first goal
“The goal was never to go to the pros,” the 51-year-old told the Journal in an interview. At American universities at that time there was no way to go to the experts. It’s more like that in recent years, with Cameron Norrie and Danielle Collins. »
When he went to university, Philippe Dore wanted above all to obtain a diploma.
“I admired the older people who had the opportunity to study in the USA and even play tennis,” he emphasizes.
Back to his loved ones
Finally, the enthusiast has killed two birds with one stone. His studies in statistics led him to a position at the ATP, which he held for a number of years (see further text below).
After a brief stint with the NASCAR series, Mr. Dore, who was well established in the United States, worked on his own for a bit. His clients included the Indian Wells tournament.
Although well-established in Florida, Philippe Dore didn’t hesitate when the organization asked him to cross the continent for a position back home six years ago. He gladly accepted this return to his first love.
“Paradise Indeed”
As Chief Marketing Officer, the Quebecer is responsible for everything related to the so-called “customer experience”.
“I take care of the shows in the stadium, the digital products, the website, the mobile application, the advertising, the media,” he lists.
And when he talks about the tournament, he does it with passion. He praises the “incredible” facility, its nine stadiums, the quality of the food, and the dry and sunny weather. The spectators there are mainly connoisseurs who appreciate the closeness to the players, especially in training, he says.
Photo from @leylahfernandez Twitter account
Leylah Fernandez (centre) posted a photo of herself in the tournament center on Twitter this week, captioning it, “Tennis heaven indeed.”
He adds that the players are “relaxed there”. Of course the director is biased. But we already told you: the biggest tennis fans mostly agree with him. Also athletes. This week, Leylah Fernandez took to Instagram to share a photo of her at the center, captioning it, “Tennis Paradise indeed.”
“Hello, I’m Roger”
Philippe Dore is not responsible for player services, but he is still asked to meet and interact with them at times. And of course he was shaped by a certain Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. “Two gentlemen,” he said.
“It’s always a pleasure to meet her,” says Mr. Dore. I’m not sure if they remember who I am, but they pretend they do! They are amazing. »
“When I first met Federer, he added, I introduced myself in French and he replied, ‘Hello, I’m Roger.’ As if I didn’t know. It shows what kind of guy he is when he does that… I didn’t expect tennis to take me there. Tennis is a big part of my life. So yes, it’s a bit of a dream job for me,” he smiles.
He contributed to the automation of data
Before diving into tennis, Philippe Dore was a Canadian government official. But he soon realized it wasn’t for him.
So when the opportunity arose to work for the ATP, the Quebecer applied. And he got the job.
leader ranking
Initially, about 25 years ago, Mr. Dore worked in the Statistics and Databases department.
“I made the rankings every week,” he explains. I collected the results of all tournaments in the world. »
Back then, the men’s tennis federation didn’t have an automated system to update its rankings weekly, which isn’t the easiest thing in professional sports.
“Back then, there was still a lot of manual data. Now the referee has a tablet on his chair. My project was to design the software so that the data leaves his chair over a wireless network and goes to the ATP. I also did it for the WTA. »
“highlight” of his career
This one, although more elaborate, is still used by the two main units of professional tennis.
Even though he now has a dream job on a dream site, Philippe Dore remains particularly proud of his achievements.
“It’s sort of the highlight of my career! he says.