Only amazing things will happen when you put Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios, and Atlanta’s own Ben Shelton on the same tennis court. A night of jam-packed, thrilling tennis in “the tennis capital of the world” awaited fans. Guess what, Atlanta? Professional Tennis is Back!
The inaugural Atlanta Cup took place on Saturday, December 6, at the Gas South Arena. Over 7,000 energetic, eager, and excited fans came to celebrate everything awesome about tennis.
The evening started with INTENNSE Tennis, which is a very fast-paced, timed tennis format that featured tennis pros and the best college players in the nation. One of the pros included YouTuber Karue Sell.
By 7:00 PM, WTA Tour world No. 1 Sabalenka (Belarus) took the court against former world No. 1 Osaka (Japan). The two battled, laughed, and entertained the fans immensely. Osaka had Chris Eubanks, a recently retired pro and Georgia Tech alumnus, play a point against Sabalenka. Despite losing that point to him, Sabalenka prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 10-4. The last point was won by one of the ball girls whom Sabalenka trusted to seal the deal.
It was so fun to see the players up close and see how really awesome their shots are! I love seeing Kyrios also doing the unexpected shots! He keeps his opponents on their toes.”
Rebecca M., a fan who attended the Atlanta Cup
Immediately following the ladies’ match came the serve bots (big servers), Kyrgios and ATP Tour world No. 9 Shelton. The highlights and crafty shots wowed the crowd, chair umpire, and Shelton’s grandparents, who were sitting front row. The match displayed great skills, shot selection, and high physical elements. Shelton eventually prevailed 7-6, 6-3 as his opponent from Australia fought hard, but is still coming back from lingering injuries.
The night concluded with a fun mixed doubles super tiebreaker with Sabalenka/Shelton narrowly edging out Osaka/Kyrgios.
Congratulations to event organizers and sponsors (J. Dolan, USTA, ALTA, BMW, Tennis Warehouse, Ionsport, to name a few) for bringing back professional tennis to Atlanta. The players were all very gracious with their time and energy all weekend. Tonight was definitely needed and appreciated by the Atlanta Tennis Community.
For more information, visit The Atlanta Cup
-Desmond Mclennon
Photo credit: Dylan Sejdi