History

BB&T Atlanta Open

The 250-point tournament had been played in Indianapolis beginning in 1921.

2012

2012 champion Andy Roddick and finalist Gilles Muller.

Andy Roddick made his mark as an 18-year-old by winning the Atlanta tournament on clay in 2001, his first ATP World Tour crown. Eleven years later, he won his last championship at the BB&T Atlanta Open. A month later, he announced his retirement during the US Open.

 

Roddick cruised to his 32^nd ATP World Tour title 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 defeating Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Roddick overcame a minor injury in the first set and changed the momentum in the match to cruise in the third set.

 

Ryan Harrison, a native of Shreveport, La., and Matthew Ebden defeated Xavier Malisse and Michael Russell to win the doubles crown 6-3, 3-6, [6]. In 2011, Ebden took the doubles crown while playing with Alex Bogomolov Jr.

 

The tournament began the first of a multi-year contract to be hosted by Atlantic Station. The multi-use complex in Atlanta's Midtown section was a huge hit with players, fans, ATP World Tour and Emirates Airline US Open Series officials. Besides a spectacular view of Atlanta's skyline, Atlantic Station also provided many amenities, including dozens of restaurants, shops and a multiplex movie theater. Atlantic Station will continue to be the site until at least 2014. Mardy Fish, the 2010 and 2011 champion, and John Isner, America's highest ranked player and former Georgia Bulldog, are committed to play through 2014.

 

2011 finalist John Isner and champion Mardy Fish.

Mardy Fish repeated as the singles champion of the tournament that was then called the Atlanta Tennis Championships. He played John Isner for the second consecutive year in the final. While both matches went to a third set, Fish had an easier time in the final set this year as opposed to 2010, winning 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2.

 

Unseeded American Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Matthew Ebden of Australia edged out the unseeded German team of Matthias Bachinger and Frank Moser 3-6, 7-5, [10-8] in a third-set match tiebreak to earn the doubles crown.

 

Lifetime Fitness Atlanta (known then as the Racquet Club of the South), in Norcross, Ga., hosted the tournament with an intimate setting July 18-24, 2011. A unique stadium court with sharply angled steps made for an up-close-and-personal feel. The club also featured 34 tennis courts, eight of which were indoors and were used for the International Food Court, Mall of Tennis, a second player lounge and a practice court. The facility also included six 36' USTA 10 and Under Tennis courts and many with blended line for 78' plays. The club also has two platform tennis courts.

 

2010

The Atlanta Athletic Club hosted the first tournament in 2010.

The inaugural tournament, called the Atlanta Tennis Championships, was played at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga., July 19-25, 2010. Mardy Fish defeated John Isner 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) to win the singles title. Americans Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram defeated Rohan Bopanna, of India, and Belgian Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 6-7(4), [12-10] to win the doubles crown.

Emirates Airline US Open Series

Announcing the acquisition of the tournament by USTA Southern were, from left, ATP World Tour Vice President Linda Clark, USTA President Lucy Garvin and USTA Southern President Rex Maynard, who were in office at that time.

The Emirates Airline US Open Series has established itself as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. Emirates Airline signed on for a seven-year agreement to be the name sponsor of the series in 2012.

Fans follow the action throughout the summer through national television coverage, culminating each week with back-to-back men’s and women’s finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for $40 million, including a chance for bonus prize money at the US Open. In 2008, Olympus became the first title sponsor of the Series. The Emirates Airline US Open Series is also supported by sponsors American Express and Evian. Andy Murray won the 2010  men’s title and Caroline Wozniacki won the women’s title. In 2007, Roger Federer collected the biggest paycheck in tennis history -- $2.4 million -- for winning the US Open and the Emirates Airline US Open Series. In 2005, Kim Clijsters also captured both the US Open and the Series, winning $2.2 million -- the largest purse in women’s sports history.

Andre Agassi, along with Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Michael Chang, all played the Atlanta clay court tournament.

Atlanta ATP Tournament
The first Atlanta ATP tournament began in 1985, however, it only stayed for one more season after it moved to Orlando, FL. The tournament then returned to Atlanta from 1992-2001 and was played at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga., in late April. From 1992 to 1999, it was called the AT&T Tennis Challenge. In 2000, it was named the Galleryfurniture.com Tennis Challenge and, in 2001, it was called the Verizon Tennis Challenge. Singles champions include former No. 1 players Andy Roddick (2001), Pete Sampras (1998) Andre Agassi (1989, 1991 and 1992) and John McEnroe (1985).

In 2001, the tournament drew 75,097 fans, had a $400,000 purse and was telecast by FOX Sports Net to 114 countries.

The 1996 Olympics

The 1996 Olympics were played in Stone Mountain, east of the city. Singles gold medalists were Americans Agassi and Lindsay Davenport. Doubles gold medalists were Americans Mary Joe and Gigi Fernandez (unrelated) and Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

Other Atlanta Tournaments

The Atlanta WCT was played as a part of the World Championship Tennis Tour in Atlanta from 1973-1976. It was played on outdoor clay courts in 1973-74 and on indoor carpet courts in 1975-1976. Singles champions were Ilie Nastase (1976), Mark Cox (1975), Dick Stockton (1974) and Stan Smith (1973). Doubles champions included Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Robert Lutz and Smith.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour played a one-year tournament in 1997 at Stone Mountain. Davenport won the singles crown.

Georgian Robby Ginepri won the Indianapolis tournament twice.

Indianapolis Tournament
The Indianapolis Tennis Championships traces its roots back to 1921, when the Western Open Championships were held for the first time at the famed Woodstock Country Club. As the sport’s popularity rose with the dawning of the Open Era in 1968, Indianapolis became home to the nationally-recognized US Men’s Clay Court Championships.

By 1974, the sport was attracting such booming crowds that Indianapolis required a new venue to host the tournament – the Indianapolis Racquet Club – featuring eight newly constructed outdoor clay courts, which at the time made it the second-largest indoor facility in the country. The dream of bringing Indianapolis to the forefront of the international tennis landscape became reality in 1979, when the Indianapolis Sports Center — later to be known as the Indianapolis Tennis Center, site of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships — was constructed.

The Indianapolis Sports Center hosted the U.S. Open Clay Court Championships until 1987, when the complex became a self-supporting, year-round tennis facility. Fourteen of 18 clay courts were resurfaced with DecoTurf II, the same surface used at the US Open. With the change in the surface came a change in the tournament’s name and date. The event became known as the U.S. Men’s Hardcourt Championships and gained the attention of the world’s best players as a premier warm-up stop on the road to the US Open. Stars like Sampras, McEnroe, Agassi, Roddick, Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya, Patrick Rafter and Gustavo Kuerten flocked to Indianapolis over the years to tune up their game before American’s Grand Slam.

The tournament morphed once again in 1992 as its growing popularity led Thomson Consumer Electronics to become the new title sponsor through its RCA brand. Thomson/RCA supported the Indianapolis Tennis Championships through 2006. RCA was the longest running title sponsor of a men’s professional tennis tournament in North America. In 2007, the tournament changed its name once again. RCA ended its run as the title sponsor and the tournament became known as the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.

Men's singles champions and finalists in Atlanta