EXCLUSIVE: Dior, LVMH Tap Wheelchair Tennis Champion Pauline Déroulède Ahead of Paris Olympics
WINNING SET: Wheelchair tennis player Pauline Déroulède has become the fourth athlete sponsored by LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton ahead of Paris 2024.
The 32-year-old athlete has also been tapped by Dior as its brand ambassador at the Paralympic Games in Paris next year, the French luxury house and its parent group said Thursday.
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Currently number 13 in the IFT’s ranking, the French player reached the quarterfinals at this year’s 2023 Roland-Garros tournament, becoming the first French player to reach that stage in wheelchair tennis since 2010.
Dior, which counts a number of athletes among its ambassadors, said in a statement it shared “ambition and commitment” with Déroulède, who is “now focused on her dream [of] conquering Paralympic gold” in Paris next year.
Participating in the international competition in her home city was the challenge the wheelchair tennis champion set down for herself after she was hit by a car whose driver had lost control in 2018, a life-changing accident that saw her left leg amputated.
Already a keen tennis player before that, she began her professional career in 2019 and by 2021, was officially selected for the French national team. She won the French wheelchair tennis championship that year and again in 2022 and 2023.
In addition to her athletic track, Déroulède is a keen advocate for road safety and is lobbying lawmakers to update French laws to account for driving aptitude, as the country remains one of the few in Europe where a license is acquired for life without any medical checks.
With her Dior appointment, the French wheelchair tennis player joins Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos, who was also tapped by the French house and its parent group ahead of Paris 2024. Their compatriots, fencer Enzo Lefort and swimmer Léon Marchand, will also receive the group’s support and have become ambassadors for Louis Vuitton.
A premium partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, LVMH reiterated its commitment to supporting athletes “whose exemplary careers make them artisans of all victories” in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The group has also been reinforcing its sports connections, announcing its return as title partner of the America’s Cup, sailing’s biggest and most prestigious race, as well as creating the travel cases for the Webb Ellis Cup and the Ballon d’Or award for the best soccer player, awarded to Lionel Messi on Monday night in Paris.
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