Atlanta ATP event headed for Johns Creek

When the ATP returns to Atlanta in July, it now has a place to go.

The Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek has been selected as the venue for the Atlanta Tennis Championships, the first professional tennis tournament in metro Atlanta since 2001.

The club was host for the previous pro tournament held in Atlanta, the AT&T Tennis Challenge (later the Verizon Tennis Challenge), before a lack of sponsorship money led to the event's end.

Tournament director Bill Oakes said the club's experience and its location near a large portion of Atlanta's tennis-playing community were factors.

"They wanted to host the event," Oakes said. "We're very excited to go there."

The tournament will be held July 19-25, the first event of the U.S. Open Series, the six-week lead-up to the U.S. Open. Thus far, Wheeler High grad and Kennesaw resident Robby Ginepri is the only commitment. Oakes has been speaking with agents for several players in the top 20 and said he expected to have more commitments before March 1.

"The process is moving quickly," he said.

The tournament will be played in a 6,000-seat main stadium, consisting mostly of temporary seating, and two smaller courts.

The 2,350 premium seats go on sale Tuesday morning. Premium seats are sold in sets of two- and four-seat packages and range from $400 to $1,250 per seat for the tournament's 11 sessions.

The remainder of the tickets will go on sale in late March.

The USTA Southern section landed the tournament after buying the sanctioning rights to the event from the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, a long-running event that struggled in recent years without a title sponsor.

The section is seeking sponsorship for the tournament. Of the 10 U.S. Open Series tournaments, the Atlanta event is one of only two without a title or presenting sponsor.