Joachim Gérard: the rising star of Belgian tennis

It was a great moment in the playing career of Joachim Gérard. Competing this month in the French Open, the Belgian, who has a world ranking of 4 in wheelchair tennis, beat his No. 1-ranked rival Shingo Kunieda to reach the final of the Grand Slam tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris.

Proud of his achievement

Although he didn’t quite manage to pull off the same result in the final against British star Alfie Hewett, Joachim Gérard is nonetheless proud of what he achieved in Paris. "Of course I’m a little bit disappointed, but I’m proud of the job I did there and the results I achieved,” he tells us, explaining: “I was slightly lacking in mental confidence in the final set and of course I’ll be working on that point over the next few months.”

Hard work the key to success

It’s certainly not due to mere chance that the 32-year-old Belgian has achieved a string of successes and today has close to 30 titles to his name. “There’s no secret formula, it requires a lot of work,” he points out, underlining:  "Although I have the good fortune to be in a profession that I love, it takes enormous perseverance and determination to get there.” Plus of course a well-knit team alongside him. Says Joachim: “It’s really about teamwork and I’m lucky enough to have met up with the right people at the right moment.”

Joachim can serve as a model of perseverance for a lot of young people, whether or not they are living with a disability.  “You need to equip yourself with the means to do what you love doing, and then, above all, to put everything you’ve got into what you’re doing,” is Joachim Gérard’s advice. "I think that’s the key to finding fulfilment in your life.”

We Are Tennis

For many years now, BNP Paribas Fortis has been actively supporting and promoting the sport of tennis at all levels. We support a number of wheelchair tennis tournaments and we also partner with the Hope & Spirit Foundation, as well as sponsoring internationally-renowned events such as the Ath Open, the Flanders 25 and the Belgian Open, a tournament in which Joachim has distinguished himself on several occasions.

“The backing of sponsors such as BNP Paribas Fortis is a tremendous help to the development of our sport in general, and helps to raise the profile of wheelchair tennis in particular,” points out Joachim Gérard, underlining: "Without them, tennis wouldn’t be what it is today.”