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ROLEX AND

Perpetual Excellence For more than a century, ’s quest for excellence through continuous improvement and innovation has underpinned all of the company’s activities – in its watchmaking and in all its engagements. As part of Perpetual Excellence, Rolex seeks partnerships with individuals and organizations in the arts and in sport who set the highest standards of performance.

Note

Please note that the following is generic information in line with the "traditional" calendar. However, given the extraordinary circumstances that have impacted the entire world in 2020, the dates of some of these events are most likely to have changed and/or will be changed.

ROLEX AND TENNIS

Rolex supports the most prestigious tournaments, the leading players, the major organizations in tennis and encourages the development of the game worldwide. From the four ® tournaments – the , Roland-Garros, The Championships, Wimbledon, and the US Open – to Swiss phenomenon , Rolex has been a loyal and enthusiastic partner of tennis for more than 40 years, during which time it has built a rich legacy of championing excellence and helping to maintain the sport’s traditions.

AT THE APEX OF TENNIS Rolex is a principal supporter of tennis, its commitment extending across the men’s and women’s game and embracing high-quality events and exciting talent.

The leading Swiss watch brand partners the four Grand Slam tournaments, namely:

 the Australian Open, in January;

 Roland-Garros, in May/June;

 The Championships, Wimbledon, in July;

 the US Open, in August/September.

Rolex’s presence at the heart of tennis is centred on the brand’s close ties with the bodies that govern the sport, including the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Rolex is also associated with the ATP’s and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)’s end-of-season championships, respectively:

 the Nitto ATP Finals; and

 the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen.

Rolex also sponsors the leading international men’s team competition, the , an event steeped in history and one that embodies exemplary sportsmanship.

Rolex counts among its Testimonees some of the sport’s most distinguished players, including:

 Roger Federer, winner of an unprecedented 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles;

 established talent, such as Juan Martín Del Potro (), (Bulgaria), Caroline Garcia (), (Germany), Garbiñe Muguruza (), (France), (Canada), (), (Austria), () and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France);

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ROLEX AND TENNIS

 legends of the sport Björn Borg (Sweden), (United States), (Sweden), (United States), (), Rod Laver (Australia) and Na ().

These partnerships build on a tradition that began in 1978 when Rolex forged its association with Wimbledon, the sport’s oldest and most revered tournament.

EVENTS AUSTRALIAN OPEN Since 2008, Rolex has been Official Partner and Official Timekeeper of the Australian Open, dubbed the “Happy Slam” for its festive spirit by Roger Federer, who has won the event six times, most recently in 2018. The first of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open attracts a record number of tennis enthusiasts, including those who gather at Melbourne Park in January under blazing southern summer skies and millions of television viewers in more than 200 countries.

ROLAND-GARROS In 2019, Rolex became Premium Partner and Official Timekeeper of Roland-Garros, as well as Official Partner of the French Tennis Federation. The second of the four Grand Slam tournaments, which dates back to 1891, has been held at Roland-Garros Stadium in since 1928 and is staged over two weeks in late May and early June. It is the only Grand Slam event held on clay, a surface considered to be the most demanding physically, requiring players to use all their skill and endurance.

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON Rolex has enjoyed an enduring partnership with Wimbledon as Official Timekeeper since 1978. The world’s first lawn tennis championships have stood as a beacon of sporting excellence and ideals since their inception in July 1877. The event holds a special place among Rolex’s sporting partnerships, marking the start of its blossoming relationship with tennis and an alliance with a bastion of the sport whose ethos mirrors its own. Like Rolex, the All England Club maintains the traditions that have served it so well while always keeping an eye to the future, and is prepared to refine and improve by increment the cherished institution that is Wimbledon fortnight. This respect for the past, while constantly seeking to be better, aligns perfectly with the pursuit of excellence that Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf enshrined as the company’s guiding philosophy.

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ROLEX AND TENNIS

US OPEN In 2018, Rolex became Official Sponsor and Official Timekeeper of the US Open. As a major sponsor of tennis, it was only natural that Rolex build on its heritage through an association with the last of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments, completing a cycle of elite-level support that starts each year in Melbourne and culminates in New York.

NITTO ATP FINALS AND SHISEIDO WTA FINALS SHENZHEN Rolex is Official Timekeeper of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour and its peak tournament, the Nitto ATP Finals, and of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals, the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. The Nitto ATP Finals and the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen bring together the top eight ranked male and female singles players and doubles teams in a thrilling season finale.

DAVIS CUP The Davis Cup is the premier team competition in men’s tennis and one of the oldest of its kind, dating back to 1900. Organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), it attracts some 125 nations – including the elite 18-nation World Group – which also makes it one of the largest team events in the world. Rolex has sponsored the Davis Cup since 2007.

LAVER CUP Rolex is the Founding Partner of the , the men’s team competition pitting six top European players against their counterparts from the rest of the world over three days in late September. Each side is led by a legend of the sport as non-playing captain; during the first four years, Rolex Testimonee Björn Borg for Team Europe and John McEnroe for Team World. The trophy honours another tennis legend and Rolex Testimonee, Rod Laver, whose success at major tournaments and in the Davis Cup in the 1960s and 1970s set the standard for champions who followed. Following its first edition in Prague (2017), the competition has since been played in Chicago (2018) and Geneva (2019) with Team Europe crowned champions each time.

PRIME TOURNAMENTS Glamour abounds at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters every April when the best men's tennis players compete for an ATP Tour Masters 1000 title on clay courts overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Rolex has been the tournament’s sponsor since 2006 and Title Sponsor since 2009.

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ROLEX AND TENNIS

In China, Rolex is Title Sponsor of the Rolex Masters. Designated Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year by ATP players for five consecutive years between its inception in 2009 and 2013, it is considered the premier event for men in Asia.

The Rolex is one of the world’s biggest indoor tournaments, attracting more than 130,000 spectators to the French capital each year. Rolex has partnered the event since 2007 and became Title Sponsor in 2017. The brand is associated with all other ATP Tour Masters 1000 competitions, namely: the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (United States); the (United States); the Mutua Open (Spain); the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italy); the Rogers Cup (Canada); and the Western & Southern Open in (United States).

TESTIMONEES Rolex partners many of the sport’s greatest players, the men and women spread across several generations who have shaped the game and continue to determine its future.

They include:

 Roger Federer, winner of an unprecedented 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, his most recent coming at the Australian Open in 2018. The Swiss legend, who holds the record for most weeks ranked World No. 1, led his country to Davis Cup victory in 2014 and claimed a silver medal in the men’s singles at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has also won a record eight Wimbledon men’s singles titles. Federer is considered one of the most accomplished sportsmen of his era and one of the best tennis players of all time, combining skill and elegance on and off the court, earning him worldwide respect and admiration. He has been a Rolex Testimonee since 2001;

 established talent:

o Juan Martín Del Potro (Argentina), winner of more than 20 ATP career singles titles, including the 2009 US Open and 2018 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he also led his country to its first Davis Cup victory in 2016;

o Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria), a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2014 and the Australian Open in 2017, and winner of the Nitto ATP Finals 2017, his eighth ATP singles title;

o Angelique Kerber (Germany), winner of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2016, and Wimbledon in 2018;

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ROLEX AND TENNIS

o Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain), winner of Roland-Garros in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017;

o Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia), who won her first Grand Slam tournament at Roland- Garros in 2017, just two days after her 20th birthday;

o Milos Raonic (Canada), Wimbledon finalist in 2016. He has reached two other Grand Slam semi-finals – Wimbledon in 2014 and the Australian Open in 2016;

o Sloane Stephens (United States), winner of the US Open in 2017 and finalist at Roland-Garros in 2018;

o Dominic Thiem (Austria), a finalist at Roland-Garros in 2018 and 2019, he has been ever-present since breaking into the top 10 in June 2016;

o Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece), who broke into the top 10 in 2019 aged just 20, becoming the highest-ranked Greek player in history, before winning the season- ending 2019 Nitto ATP Finals;

o Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France), whose career highlights include winning the Paris Masters in 2008 and the Rogers Cup in 2014. He was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2008 and won the Davis Cup with France in 2017;

 outstanding young players (Canada), (Switzerland), (Great Britain), (United States), Caroline Garcia (France), (Russia), Lucas Pouille (France) and Jannick Sinner (Italy);

 great champions (China), Asia’s tennis trailblazer and winner of two Grand Slam singles titles, at Roland-Garros in 2011 and the ; (), winner of the in 2008 and ranked World No. 1 that year; and (Denmark), who won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2018, which helped her regain the World No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2012;

 International Tennis Hall of Fame honourees Rod Laver (Australia); Björn Borg (Sweden); Jim Courier (United States); Stefan Edberg (Sweden); Chris Evert (United States) and Justine Henin (Belgium), all multiple Grand Slam tournament winners.

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ROLEX AND TENNIS

ROLEX AND ACHIEVEMENT The roots of Rolex’s affinity for sports and human achievement can be traced back to the pioneering origins of the company. When founder Hans Wilsdorf set up his watchmaking firm, he was influenced by the swift changes sweeping through society at the beginning of the 20th century. In an era when wristwatches were still regarded as fragile items of apparel, he was determined to create one that would be robust, precise and reliable, adapted to ever more active and sporting lifestyles.

After pioneering the quest for precision in wristwatches, in 1926 Rolex invented the first waterproof wristwatch in the world, the Rolex Oyster, thanks to a case equipped with an ingenious patented system consisting of a screw-down bezel, case back and winding crown.

To prove his invention, Hans Wilsdorf equipped a young English swimmer, Mercedes Gleitze, with an Oyster when she swam the English Channel a year later in 1927. The Rolex watch emerged from more than 10 hours in the water in perfect working condition and Gleitze effectively became the first Rolex Testimonee – a witness to the watch’s uncompromised performance.

Rolex continued to use the world as a real-life proving ground for the Oyster, demonstrating time and again its reliability and performance in the most extreme conditions, on land, in the air, in the depths of the ocean or on the tallest peaks. These exploits helped to develop Rolex Professional watches, such as the Oyster Perpetual Explorer and Explorer II, the Cosmograph Daytona, the Submariner, the Yacht-Master and Yacht-Master II. This commitment to superior performance extended to the realm of sporting excellence, where Rolex is a leading and trusted partner.

Driven by its universally recognized excellence, Rolex has built upon its own defining heritage in watchmaking to embrace the spirit of tennis. The brand’s passion for exacting performance is shared with the leading tournaments and players partnered by Rolex worldwide.

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