Players and coaches concentrated on their performances at tennis’s 2009 U.S. Open this year, feeling confident of their image as the Julien Farel Group from Madison Avenue in New York wove its magic.
From Aug. 28 to Sept. 13, for the third year in a row, Farel was selected to set up a temporary salon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., so that athletes could come in for a relaxing manicure and pedicure or to have their hair cut and styled or makeup applied.
In talking by phone with The Epoch Times, Farel said, “Every year things are improving. The more we move forward, we see that the players are different each year, starting to brand themselves [and] pay attention to how they dress. They use tennis to approach their own brand. Young players become celebrities and models, even if they’re not in [the] top five. And the event is becoming more elegant, more like in Europe, more like a fashion show; spectators dress well. We’re starting to see it in the U.S., which is great—it should look like a party!”
It was raining the day we talked, so no one was playing. But Farel watches as many matches as possible, partly because he is a great tennis fan and partly because he wants to support his clients. Most of the work he does styling and preparing the players and their staff is done during the day, so most of his spectator time is at night. He says he sleeps very little during the event, wanting to participate as much as possible.
This season he has styled the hair of players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gilles Simon, Jelena Jankovic, Nadia Petrova, and Na Li. Other clients who have come to him at the event are Ilie Nastase, Billie Jean King, Hana Mandlikova, Mary Jo Fernandez, and Hannah Storm.
For Jankovic, he cut her hair and gave her a new look—a 2009 style. He said the players do care about how they look. Imagine the challenge he faces, with the hours of time the players spend in the hot, humid weather jumping and turning and running!
From Aug. 28 to Sept. 13, for the third year in a row, Farel was selected to set up a temporary salon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., so that athletes could come in for a relaxing manicure and pedicure or to have their hair cut and styled or makeup applied.
In talking by phone with The Epoch Times, Farel said, “Every year things are improving. The more we move forward, we see that the players are different each year, starting to brand themselves [and] pay attention to how they dress. They use tennis to approach their own brand. Young players become celebrities and models, even if they’re not in [the] top five. And the event is becoming more elegant, more like in Europe, more like a fashion show; spectators dress well. We’re starting to see it in the U.S., which is great—it should look like a party!”
It was raining the day we talked, so no one was playing. But Farel watches as many matches as possible, partly because he is a great tennis fan and partly because he wants to support his clients. Most of the work he does styling and preparing the players and their staff is done during the day, so most of his spectator time is at night. He says he sleeps very little during the event, wanting to participate as much as possible.
This season he has styled the hair of players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gilles Simon, Jelena Jankovic, Nadia Petrova, and Na Li. Other clients who have come to him at the event are Ilie Nastase, Billie Jean King, Hana Mandlikova, Mary Jo Fernandez, and Hannah Storm.
For Jankovic, he cut her hair and gave her a new look—a 2009 style. He said the players do care about how they look. Imagine the challenge he faces, with the hours of time the players spend in the hot, humid weather jumping and turning and running!
Multiple Beauty Services
Asked how he is able to make them look good, he said: “Most of the time we cut their hair and style it, but nails are important, too. They use their hands a lot, and a pedicure is important because they are on their feet so much.” He said he knows how important feet are since he runs every morning.
“We also do eyebrow shaping for the women. It’s important to have the right cut and to protect the color; they spend hours in the sun. And we must use good products. Plage Phyto is good. For so many hours in the sun, products are important.”
