If you approach tennis enthusiasts who are lucky enough to travel the planet to attend several tournaments and ask them which of these tournaments is their favorite, the answer may surprise you. Because while some will probably tell you Wimbledon or Roland-Garros, many will also mention Indian Wells, site of the BNP Paribas Open, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season.
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After all, Indian Wells is California – with no less than 500 palm trees on the site – tranquility, sunshine. The tournament is also called ” tennis paradise (tennis paradise)”…
And it is a Quebecer, born in Charlesbourg, who is the chief marketing officer of the tournament, whose main draw matches for both men and women have been played since Wednesday.
This job is a dream come true for Philippe Dore, who has been immersed in the world of the little yellow ball since his youth.
As a teenager, Mr. Dore played tennis at the Club Avantage de Québec. The enthusiast was talented, so he got a scholarship to the University of North Florida, where he was able to continue playing at a high level.
Not his first goal
“The goal was never to go to the pros, says in an interview with the Journal the 51-year-old man. American universities, at the time, it was not a passage to go to the professionals. It has rather become so in recent years, with Cameron Norrie or Danielle Collins. »
By attending university, therefore, it was above all a diploma that Philippe Dore wanted to obtain.
“I admired the older ones who had the chance to go to study in the United States and who could thereby even play tennis,” he points out.
Back to his loves
The enthusiast finally killed two birds with one stone. His degree in statistics led him to a position at the ATP, which he held for a few years (see other text below).
After a brief stint with the NASCAR series, Mr. Dore, well established in the United States, worked a little on his own. Among his clients was the Indian Wells tournament.
Yet well established in Florida, Philippe Dore did not hesitate long when the organization asked him to cross the continent to take up a position at home six years ago. He happily accepted this return to his first love.
“Paradise, indeed”
As chief marketing officer, the Quebecer is responsible for everything related to what is called the “customer experience”.
“I take care of the shows at the stadium, the digital products, the website, the mobile application, the advertising, the media”, he lists.
And when he talks about the tournament, Mr. Dore does so with passion. He praises the “incredible” site, its nine stadiums, the quality of the food, the dry and sunny weather. The spectators there are mostly connoisseurs, who appreciate the closeness they have with the players, especially in training, he notes.
Photo taken from the Twitter account @leylahfernandez
Leylah Fernandez (centre) posted a photo of herself on the tournament center on Twitter this week, under which she wrote: ‘Tennis heaven, indeed’.
He adds that the players “are relaxed there”. Of course, the director has a bias. But we told you earlier: the biggest tennis fans mostly agree with him. Athletes too. This week, Leylah Fernandez shared on Instagram a photo of her on the center, under which she wrote: “Tennis paradise, indeed”.
“Hello, I’m Roger”
Philippe Dore is not responsible for player service, but he is still called upon to meet and interact with them sometimes. And of course, he was marked by a certain Roger Federer as well as Rafael Nadal. “Two gentlemen,” he said.
“I always enjoy meeting them,” says Mr. Dore. I’m not sure they remember who I am, but they act like they do! They are amazing. »
“The first time I met Federer, he adds, I introduced myself in French and he replied: “Hello, I am 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 finding himself immersed in the field of tennis, Philippe Dore was first a civil servant for the Canadian government. But he soon realized it wasn’t for him.
This is why, when the opportunity arose to work for the ATP, the Quebecer applied. And he got the job.
Head of Rankings
Initially, about 25 years ago, Mr. Dore worked in the statistics and databases department.
“I was doing the rankings every week,” he explains. I collected the results of all the tournaments in the world. »
Back then, the men’s tennis association didn’t have an automated system to update its rankings weekly, which isn’t the easiest in professional sports.
“At the time, there was still a lot of manual data. Now the referee has a tablet at his chair. It was my project to make the software so that the data leaves his chair through 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 entities of professional tennis.
So even if he now has a dream job on a dream site, Philippe Dore remains particularly proud of his accomplishments.
“It’s kind of the highlight of my career! he says.
