New tennis exhibition, The Atlanta Cup, features Naomi Osaka, Ben Shelton

After the ATP Tour killed off the Atlanta Open after 15 years last year, the city known for a thriving tennis culture was bereft of pro tennis.

So Jason Dolan, a former advertising executive, wanted to fill the void.

His solution: create an exhibition called The Atlanta Cup, happening at Gas South Arena in Duluth on Saturday, featuring four top-flight tennis players: American Ben Shelton, who was ranked as high as No. 5 last month on the men’s ATP rankings; former Women’s Tennis Association No. 1 female player Naomi Osaka; current No. 1 women’s player Aryna Sabalenka and Australian Nick Kyrgios, a former top 20 player in both singles and doubles.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is the top women's tennis player in the world and will be Atlanta on Saturday. (Fatima Shbair/AP)

An exhibition from new Atlanta-based pro league Intennse will open the event at 6 p.m., followed by Osaka and Sabalenka at 7 p.m. playing a best-of-three sets exhibition. Shelton and Kyrgios will then do the same. If time permits, the four will play mixed doubles. All four will have microphones attached to them so fans can catch their comments.

Tickets start at $124.30 via Ticketmaster.

The Tennis Channel, Dolan added, will air the matches starting at 7 p.m.

“I want this to be a night for Atlantans in different tennis leagues to celebrate all together,” he said, whether it’s USTA, ALTA or amateur flex leagues like Ultimate and T2. “I also appreciate the pros that work in this community and make a living. I am amazed by the level of coaching we have here.”

FILE - Nick Kyrgios of Australia will play Ben Shelton on Saturday in Atlanta. (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Dolan’s first move in the spring was to call EVOLVE, a talent and sports management company launched in 2022 and co-founded by Osaka. EVOLVE also reps Sabalenka and Kyrgios.

“The agents were amazingly easy to work with,” Dolan said. “I wanted the right star power.”

Shelton, who was born in Atlanta and competed in the Atlanta Open twice, said in a statement provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it was “special to be back and take part in this exhibition. I can’t wait to get on the court there and play in front of the fans and family I have in Atlanta.”

Atlanta resident and former pro tennis player Luke Jensen will provide play-by-play, and recently retired player Chris Eubanks, who grew up in Atlanta, will emcee.

Dolan, a longtime advertising executive, moved to metro Atlanta from New Jersey in 2020 and at age 46 began playing tennis for the first time since he was a teenager. “I fell in love with it,” he said.

He is funding the entire event himself. As of Thursday morning, he had sold more than 75% of the tickets and said he expects to break even.

Dolan hopes to make the Atlanta Cup an annual event.

“So many people have reached out across tennis, not just in Atlanta but around the country, with support and asking how to help,” he said.