SABRHERO is a British tennis and sports brand, combining luxury and style. Their roots stem from both Britain and France. They believe performance comes from within, and the desire to nourish one’s abilities and better one’s self is a rare quality, one that should be cherished.
Coming from an international tennis player’s background, the co-founder, Alpha Ambaye, had the chance to travel the world from tournament to tournament, in search of her own greatness. Throughout these formative years, she longed for an answer to better equipment, more elegant, more performant; that would make you feel like a champion, merely by using it. From her beginnings in a small town called Berkhamsted, to her time lived abroad in Southern France, this same goal lulled in the background, wanting to be addressed.
A few years later, after testing over 80 rackets in a period of 3 months, she decided to take action, and create a racket made just for her. She went through all the steps to produce her very own product. Alpha went on to play with the rackets in training and tournaments, and very soon, they caught the eyes of her opponents, the tennis fans, and spectators, wondering which brand made these rackets, and if they, too could buy one.
Two years later, newly graduated from her MBA in Digital Marketing in the Luxury World, from the prestigious Sup de Luxe school in Paris, ( part of the the ‘’Chair Cartier’’, created by professionals working in the luxury goods sector, in partnership with Cartier), she decided the time was right to launch the brand. Incorporating the customer service, the attention to detail, the quest for performance and excellence learned from her mentors, she teamed up with Theo Fancellu, a budding designer, her sister, also a tennis player at a high level, and international business student Mir Ambaye.
Theo Fancellu, the co-founder, had always expressed an interest in the world of Art. Growing up, he watched attentively as his mother created tailor-made dresses, costumes and outfits, for companies and events. She later on introduced him to the world of Performing Arts, sculpture and design.
On his father’s side, sport was omnipresent, from Golf, Running, Football, to the historical game of Real Tennis. His cousin was part of the training team of numerous WTA players (Women’s Tennis Association : Female equivalent of the ATP), seeing that happen through his star-filled child’s eyes, it stuck with him forever, and his passion for tennis resurfaced 2 years ago, with the SABRHERO project. Theo had always been fascinated by the world of Luxury, with influences like Valentino, Louboutin and Hermes, synonymous with his Mediterranean and French roots.
Alpha, Theo and Mir set out on an quest to create tennis equipment, apparel and bags, fit for the court, but also the catwalk. All three, already had a penchant for the world of design, art and fashion, and put their minds together, to reveal, through SABRHERO, qualities within themselves, unbeknown to them until then.
They created prototypes, went out on the field to test them, by over 150 players, all of good to great levels, from tennis coaches with experience to young professional juniors. All of the data collected throughout this process was then sorted and extracted. Then began the creative process, a brainstorm of beauty meets sheer design, to produce a tennis racket fit for a hero.
Once launched, they then turned to creating bags that would follow in the brand’s footsteps: bold, block colors combined with sleek, fresh lines, using top-of-the range materials. Every SABRHERO item needed to be designed and created with this formula : to make the player feel like a hero, their own hero, every time they stepped on court. A sense that the near-impossible would now be possible, that they too, are capable of being a better version of themselves, that they now held the key to becoming the athlete they always wanted to be. Whether it be a weekend-warrior or a budding professional, the feeling you get at that moment is magical to say the least.
The leitmotiv of SABRHERO is simple, everyone deserves the right to believe in themselves. Their goal is to support, encourage and carry you through your moments of weakness, your moments of strength, glory or disappointment. To be the shoulders of a giant you can stand on, a force that pushes you through.