One of the largest private collections of antique tennis rackets and accessories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be auctioned to commemorate the iconic tennis tournament, Roland-Garros, which will take place from May 28 to June 11, 2023. Tennis enthusiasts will have a new opportunity to connect with the sport's history thanks to the collection, which will be available for purchase through the OpenSea platform and includes authentic physical objects and NFT collectibles.
During his decade-long passion journey, a private collection of 91 lots was curated by Dubai-based IT entrepreneur and CEO of a Belarussian branch of fintech giant Koronapay Europe. An avid tennis player, Slava Babienko collected objects on auctions worldwide, eventually assembling the largest collection of original antique rackets, tennis balls, tournament cups, and even tennis-themed postage stamps in CIS.
“In order to showcase the unique history behind each racket and to allow collectors a new opportunity to interact with their purchase in new ways, together with my team we’ve designed high-quality NFT tokens to accompany each original object sold. I believe the enthusiasm for collecting antiquities needs to evolve with technology. Thanks to state-of-the-art technological advancements, we can now appreciate coveted objects in our own private spaces while also creating a high-quality digital footprint, providing a brand new experience,” says Slava.
Using $100,000 worth of professional 3D equipment to produce the highest-resolution virtual collectibles, Babienko and his team created virtual collectibles that would showcase antique objects to the finest detail, preserving every crack, wear and tear one expects to see on a historical item.
“It’s an entirely new approach to acquiring antique objects. Before, only the collector, their family, and close friends would see the objects. NFT technology, on the other hand, now allows us to reach wider audiences and make collecting rare objects more appealing to younger, tech-savvy collectors, all while creating a digital footprint of the historical object online. Aside from collecting, NFTs have educational value as another way to preserve the memory and image of unique objects from previous centuries,” adds Babienko.
To learn more about the collection, visit https://antiquerackets.com/
This article was written in cooperation with PR Partners