Tennis, cocktails and a summer afternoon at Atlantic Station

There are some experiences in Atlanta that you plan months in advance, and then there are the ones that simply make for a really good day in the city.

The 2024 Atlanta Open was the latter for me.

Held at Atlantic Station from July 21–28, the ATP tournament brought professional tennis into the middle of Atlanta for a week of matches, hospitality experiences and summer events. It would also become the final edition of the Atlanta Open after 14 years in the city.

I attended as a guest and was also invited into the Ketel One Botanical hospitality tent, which naturally made the afternoon even better.

The Experience

One of the things I enjoyed most about the Atlanta Open was how approachable the entire experience felt.

You didn’t need to be someone who followed professional tennis every week to enjoy being there. The energy of a live match makes the sport surprisingly easy to get into — watching the rallies unfold in real time, hearing the reaction of the crowd and realizing just how fast the ball is actually moving compared with watching tennis on television.

The match itself was fun, but the event around the tennis was part of the appeal too.

Atlantic Station gave the tournament a very Atlanta feel. Instead of traveling outside of the city to a massive sports complex, you could make the Open part of an afternoon or evening out and still be surrounded by restaurants, shopping and everything happening in Midtown.

A Stop at the Ketel One Tent

Between the tennis and the Atlanta summer heat, the Ketel One Botanical tent was a very welcome stop.

I was invited into the space for complimentary cocktails, and the setup felt more like a small summer lounge than a traditional event sponsor booth.

The botanical backdrop, floral details and bright branding made it one of those activations where you actually wanted to spend a little time instead of simply grabbing something and moving on.

And, of course, free cocktails rarely hurt an afternoon at the tennis.

What I appreciated was that the activation fit naturally into the event. Tennis already has a certain social element to it, so having somewhere to cool off, enjoy a drink and take in the atmosphere made the experience feel a little more elevated without taking away from the reason everyone was there in the first place.

More Than Just the Match

That may have been my biggest takeaway from the Atlanta Open.

Going to a sporting event doesn’t necessarily have to mean sitting in your seat for several hours and then going home.

The Atlanta Open felt like an experience.

There was the tennis, of course, but there was also the summer atmosphere, the people watching, cocktails, brand activations and that feeling of being outside enjoying something happening in your own city.

It made for the kind of afternoon that reminds me why I enjoy exploring Atlanta just as much as I enjoy getting on a plane.

Sometimes you don’t need an elaborate itinerary.

Sometimes you need good weather, an interesting event, a cocktail and something you haven’t done before.

Would I Have Gone Again?

Absolutely.

Even as someone who wasn’t attending as a tennis superfan, I had a genuinely good time.

The tournament was easy to enjoy casually, while still offering enough excitement for people who really follow the sport. And having hospitality experiences like the Ketel One Botanical tent added another layer to the day.

Unfortunately, 2024 turned out to be the Atlanta Open’s final year. Yoshihito Nishioka ultimately won the final tournament, defeating Jordan Thompson after a match interrupted by more than five hours of rain delays.

I’m glad I had the chance to experience the Open before its final goodbye to Atlanta.

And if there is one thing the afternoon confirmed, it’s this:

I may need to add more tennis to my summer plans.