Tim Essonne

The Tim Essonne is an international junior tennis tournament for players aged 12–14, held in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois. It is one of the most prestigious trophies in the U14 circuit of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour.

The event has seen a number of its champions go on to become professionals, such as Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal who won the tournament in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Other notable participations were Roger Federer in 1994 and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2012. Future World No. 1s Martina Hingis, Amélie Mauresmo, and Justine Henin also participated.

History
The tournament was created in 1983, at the request of Jean-Paul Loth (then national technical director) and Albert Guilbert (president of the Ligue de l'Essonne).

The competition has been classified as a grade 1 of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, a rank it has held since its creation in 1983 thanks to the accommodation and catering offered to participants and coaches. As a grade 1 tournament, Tim Essonne has a lot of points to offer in the U14 Junior Rankings; for instance, in 2017, Max Westphal from Esson went from 77th to 6th place in Europe after reaching the final.

The tournament was initially called simply Tim, then Tim 91, and finally renamed Tim Essonne. Its success has continued to grow since its creation. In 35 years, the number of participating nations has increased from 5 to nearly 50.

Organization
The Tim Essonne is one of the most important tournaments in its age category. Its sponsors and long-standing institutional partners are: The French Tennis Federation, the General Council of Essonne, the Departmental Youth and Sports Directorate, the commune of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois. In addition, the tournament can also count on its numerous volunteers who have been present every year since its creation.