Tennis: with UTS, the champions will descend into the arenas of Nîmes

Vincent Bastide, CEO of Groupe Bastide Médical, the mayor of the city Jean-Paul Fournier and the organizer of the UTS, Patrick Mouratoglou. MIDI LIBRE – MIKAËL ANISSET

On April 4 and 5, 2025, Gaël Monfils and Co will be there for a promising show.

Three decades after his last appearance on clay… from the arenas of Nîmes, the little yellow ball will bounce there again, on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 April 2025, on the occasion of the UTS (Ultimate tennis showdown), created by Patrick Mouratoglou.
On May 5, 1991, in the cold and wind, Forget, Leconte and Santoro had set the arenas ablaze, eliminating Australia in the Davis Cup quarter-finals before lifting the silver bowl in early December.

The century, the era and the players have changed. But not only that… The rules of the UTS game also have nothing to do with the ATP (see box).

Patrick Mouratoglou ''delighted to be in a legendary place''

By taking a look at the 2025 calendar of a competition created in 2020, we can see that Nîmes figures prominently alongside Frankfurt, London, Oslo, New York and Guadalajara !

''In my opinion, I found it quite appropriate, even touching for the people of Nîmes, to be able to relive an event of this magnitude, emphasizes, recalling that day in May 1991, the CEO of the Bastide Médical Group Vincent Bastide, a partner of the UTS. As a teenager, I experienced tennis tournaments in this city, notably the Philipps Tournament (from 1986 to 1989), where Leconte and Becker came.''

UTS, above all, is ''a story of men, through of a meeting between Jérémy Chardy (world No. 25 in 2013) and Patrick Mouratoglou'', continues the business leader.

The arenas, for an avant-garde show

''Bastide Médical is a partner who has played the game 100% and is extremely motivated, continues Mouratoglou. With UTS, we are delighted to be in France, in a legendary place, the arenas (259 650 € rental), which makes the event even more magical. When we showed the players the photos of the place, they said: ‘’wow….''
''Being able to use the arenas as a venue for a very avant-garde event will, in a way, contrast with what exists today in the ATP circuit'', assures Bastide.
We're getting there. The ATP is one thing, the UTS is another. ''It is a parallel league to the ATP, which has a different function, explains its founder. That of recruiting a new fan base for tennis.''

Monfils, Rublev, Ruud, Humbert out!

UTS aims to ''also rejuvenate the public of a sport that has followed the evolution of its age, indicates Bastide. This is a bit of a challenge that we have set ourselves and I hope that we will succeed''.
If all roads lead to Rome, those of Gaël Monfils – winner of the New York stage in August – Rublev (world No. 6), Ruud (No. 9) and Ugo Humbert (No. 15, French No. 1), to name just a few for now, will lead them to the arenas. '

'This trophy, with the Lightning of Zeus, says everything you can imagine, this place lending itself so well to the event. Everything really comes together well'', Mouratoglou concludes. The Show must go on!

UTS, a new way of seeing tennis

UTS, WHAT IS IT ? ''When we created UTS in 2020, we said to ourselves that if we had to create tennis today, knowing what we know about people's consumer world, it would look like that…'', estimates Mouratoglou ; Â ''that'' is new rules: 4 quarters of 8' – 3 to win to win the match – all points scored, one serve, 15'’’ between each point, sudden death, no more rallies, no more… warm-ups before matches, players and coaches interviewed in the middle of a match with live feedback at the change of ends, the public who can show themselves during the exchanges…

''In fact, sport is a communion between the public and the athletes and, to commune, you have to express your emotions, notes Mouratoglou. It's the end of ‘’silence, please.’’. Tennis is the only sport in the world where you pay for a ticket and they tell you to shut up. There won't be that at UTS. The public has the right to express themselves, to move, to stand up…'' Welcome to the world of UTS.

PRICES – Ticket prices will range from 12 € (Friday; 15 €, Saturday) for a seat at the top of the arena (free seating) to 280 € (340 €) for one, on the platform. Passing by 19 € (24) in category 3; 57 € (71 €) in 2; 104 € (129) in 4 and 200 € (240) in 1.

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