Being a native of the south, the recent rumors that the current ATP tournament in Indianapolis could be moving to Atlanta next year caught my attention. Indianapolis has suffered recently due to lack of a major sponsor and declining audience.
It’s too soon to tell if Atlanta is a done deal but it would certainly make sense for the south’s largest city to have a professional tennis event again. If the tourney remains designated as an ATP 250, the problem remains if it will be able to attract big names since many prefer to play ATP 500 events or higher in preparation for the U.S. Open. Atlanta’s notorious hot summers could also be a factor but the guys play in Washington D.C. under sticky conditions so it shouldn’t matter.
Adjusting the Net 
No, no and no – Atlanta is too frigging hot in July. Washington, another sweatshop in the summer, has, with the exception of this past year with the tournament weighing changes, seen their draw suffer because of it. And let’s not forget sweltering Cincy, which is the least liked MS on the docket but required for top 50. Unless you want all the non-Americas staying to play in Europe after Wimbledon until the Roger Cup, move it to Chicago. They and Atlanta were vying for the Cincy tournament in 2001 so there definitely is interest. And let’s face it – there is nothing exciting to do in Atlanta if you are a traveler – the players will be as bored as they were in Indy. Sad but true.
Although I do agree with your comments that Atlanta isn’t the most exciting city, it would make sense for the ATP to have the event there as, many top companies have their home base in the city so they would be great sponsors and 25% of the USTA members are in the South region so it would make sense to have a top tier event in their backyard. Who knows what will turn out, but we definitely need more events in the U.S. to help promote the sport than in Asia.