Roland Garros 2022 Poster: A Salute to Ball Kids

The official Roland Garros 2022 poster was unveiled this week, and all the hard-working ball kids of the world have reason to rejoice. Designed by French artist Louise Sartor, the poster showcases a colorful rendering of a ball boy crouched on the sidelines, yellow tennis balls in hand, bathed in a grid of shadow cast by the net. It’s the first time since 1980—the inaugural year of the Roland Garros poster—that ball kids have been the featured subject.

Paris-born Louise Sartor, 33, is a figurative painter whose pedigree includes the École des Arts Décoratifs and École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. According to the French Tennis Federation, she became “fascinated with the precision of the ball kids and their movements, captivated by their perfectly-executed choreography…efficiency, concentration, and skill.” The painting, rendered in gouache (an opaque watercolor-like medium), pays tribute to these young, mostly overlooked, essential workers.

Sartor herself is noteworthy for being only the second woman selected to design the tournament’s official poster over its 40+ year history; Fabienne Verdier was the first, in 2018.