During the last two weeks, the world’s best tennis players were in Indian Wells, Calif. for the BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN), the biggest tennis tournament in the States after the US Open. With behind-the-scenes photos and Vine videos coming from @BNPPARIBASOPEN and selfies and messages from the athletes, Twitter gave fans an all-access pass to the tournament.
From March 3, the start of the women’s qualifying draw, through March 16, when Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) defeated @rogerfederer to claim the men’s singles title, @BNPPARIBASOPEN was the destination for photos and Vine videos of action both on and off the court.
There was a Twitter Mirror, capturing the athletes goofing off, enjoying signing autographs and, of course, reacting to winning.
Here is a custom timeline of some ace Twitter Mirror photos from the tournament.
“The goal was to give fans a glance at the players in a way they never see them,” said Matt Van Tuinen, BNP Paribas Open Media Relations Manager. “We did that by putting the Mirror in the player’s tunnel in Stadium 1, resulting in some authentic and exciting photos from the biggest tennis stars in the world.”
The Twitter Mirror photos were sent from the @BNPPARIBASOPEN account and stamped with the hashtag #BNPPO14. It was easy for the athletes; all they had to do was pose for the picture, as you can see in this Vine video of @rogerfederer after his semifinal win.
Speaking of Vine, the @BNPPARIBASOPEN account used the 6-second video platform to provide fans exclusive content, including clips of the athletes getting ready to walk onto the court and warming up, the coin toss and the crowd noise after a big point.
In addition to tweeting photos from the Twitter Mirror, @BNPPARIBASOPEN shared images of @DjokerNole’s confetti-filled victory, the stadium and more.
All that content raised @BNPPARIBASOPEN’s profile, as the account gained an average of 500 new followers each day during the two-week event — a 60% increase from last year’s tournament.
The athletes too were tweeting out photos. @rogerfederer shared a diverse array of photos, from a simple selfie to the clouds overhead. Fellow Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) tweeted a selfie while in an elevator with his doubles partner @rogerfederer.
Celebrity fans joined in the fun, as @Lakers center @paugasol took in the tournament and tweeted this selfie.
In all, the BNP Paribas Open and its participating athletes provided a thrill on the court and on Twitter, too.
Do you know of other innovative uses of Twitter? Write to [email protected].
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