Why the Almaty Open likes its potential to grow in a competitive tennis event landscape
Bulat Utemuratov and Yuriy Polskiy have high hopes for Kazakhstan’s newly-relocated ATP 250 to shine through warm hospitality and careful detail work.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan—This year, the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation (KTF) celebrates its fifth year running an ATP tournament. The operation is noticeably different in 2024, after officials received the go-ahead to relocate the event from Astana to stage the Almaty Open.
In renting out the Almaty Arena, the KTF had just 12 days to transform the grounds—known for its ice hockey rink—into a world-class experience. From luxury, VIP dining options and tailored sponsor activations, to family-friendly activities and ticket options for all budgets, their hard work in nailing the details has come to life.
Inside lies a warm, inviting environment for tennis and casual fans alike—one KTF president Bulat Utemuratov and KTF vice president Yuriy Polskiy sees as just phase one of so much more to come. TENNIS.com sat down with the two leaders to understand the vision behind this latest chapter, where they fit into a competitive calendar and outlook on their sport’s landscape—locally and internationally.
After the successful run in Astana, what was the motivation behind relocating to Almaty?
UTEMURATOV: This is the capital of tennis here. Almaty is also the biggest city in terms of the fan engagement, And there are a lot of tournaments and tennis centers here as well.
A look at the transformed Almaty Arena for an evening session match.
What’s been the most challenging aspect of changing host cities?
POLSKIY: In Astana, we owned the venue so we could manage it easily and furnish it as we need. Here, it’s a multi-purpose venue. It’s used for different kinds of concerts, cultural events and sporting events. We had to adjust and bring new equipment here, buy the temporary courts to get them here. Plus, we bought the tennis bubble to put the practice courts there. It was an interesting experience, but we see that Almaty has huge potential.
I imagine another reason behind this switch is the chance to reimagine the overall experience, make upgrades that will take this event to another level?
POLSKIY: In order to grow the tournament, we need to provide additional benefits for the spectators and fans. We have big festival here for the kids, so everybody can come here and spend a whole day with nice entertainment and good food. People can have a culinary experience with a Michelin-Star restaurant, or another high-level VIP restaurant from a local supplier.
We also try to cover all the needs of the players. More locker rooms, a bigger gym, extra warm up areas, places to relax. The players are the most important part for us because without them, there is going to be no show. Our main priority is to make the experience of players, sponsors and fans reach the top level so everybody sees us as the best partner.
For you Bulat, how important has building relationships with players over the years been as it relates to growing a tennis footprint in Kazakhstan?
UTEMURATOV: I have long-lasting personal relationships with many players. Rafa is my dear friend for many years. Also, am good friends with Novak. They each came here twice and helped to spread the word about Kazakhstan among the players. I introduce myself and work with the players from a young age when they come to play at our junior tournaments. The same at our [ATP] Challenger events. So they are familiar with us before playing the ATP tournament and know that they can trust us.
We try to create the perfect conditions for the players so they would not [only] enjoy staying here but would love to come back again and again. We learned a lot from the experience of the biggest tournaments on the tour.
As an ATP 250 event license holder: What are your thoughts on the direction the ATP calendar has taken, with longer Masters 1000 events and fewer tournaments?
UTEMURATOV: I see these changes as an attempt from ATP to improve the calendar to reduce their workload on the players. We see that injuries happen a lot because they’re just overplaying. Tennis is a very intense sport. You must sustain a high level and have this physical pressure. Andrea Gaudenzi and the board of ATP spend the time to discuss changes. So I understand the logic.
Yuriy?
POLSKIY: Besides the scheduling, it is also about the exhibition events. They also make the impact on the approachability of the players. That’s why for us it’s very important to make players feel nice here and they need to know that this is the tournament where they will be taken care of.
Utemuratov with Nadal and Djokovic during a 2019 exhibition held in Kazakhstan.
In the past, you’ve talked about wanting a 500 event. A handful of events were upgraded starting next year. Do you see Almaty still fitting into this dream?
UTEMURATOV: Yes. We had these attempts before, but logistically wise, they preferred the first half of the year. We will still keep on working on this and have two potential ways how to achieve it. The first one is to combine two 250s. That was our proposal with ATP previously, and we’ll keep that in mind for the future. We’re also trying to find a tournament that is ready to sell. But the market is not that big.
Are there any lessons from your four-year run in Astana that you’ve applied to getting Almaty off the ground with fewer obstacles?
POLSKIY: The main lesson Is that we’re in the service business. We have to serve players, fans, sponsors, coaches, everybody. And that’s why we approach it not just from the usual technical side, so that everybody understands that they’re part of the big event. Every detail matters.
And for us, it’s also very important to activate the sponsors so they not just have their name on the banners. By doing the activities with people, they get the access to their direct customers because it’s a win-win situation.
As someone who is not only the president of KTF but also the vice president of the ITF, what do you think is one area in professional tennis that disappoints you?
UTEMURATOV: My biggest disappointment is what has happened with the Davis Cup in recent years. Kosmos initially made very beautiful proposals, promised a lot. Eventually, they couldn’t deliver on that and to some extent really damaged the Davis Cup, Now, we have to restore and rebuild it. We’re working a lot to make it interesting and a tournament that players do not want to miss.
Where does Kazakhstani tennis beyond names fans are already familiar with fit into the conversation right now?
POLSKIY: We are learning from our mistakes. We are trying to be better every time. And that’s why we have quite a few good players who are the best in Europe, in Asia, in different age categories. Amir Omarkhanov at 16 is already playing ATP tournaments, but also we have Zangar Nurlanuly who is also up and coming. We see that there is a very healthy competition between them. Eventually that’s how we will have at least four or five good players in both the men and women’s side because we need to keep our team strong. We want to stay in the World Group of Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. Local kids, they start to believe that it’s possible when the person who lives next to them achieves that.
Success can be defined in so many ways. What needs to happen for the Almaty Open to be viewed as a success in your eyes at the end of the tournament?
UTEMURATOV: Tennis is a social project for me, I don’t make any money. The most important part is to have full stands to make this feel like a special atmosphere.
POLSKIY: I think that we worked on everything which is needed to have a nice event. Now we need full crowd because we did all of this for the public. That is our main goal.
Before we go: Bulat, will you make the trip to Spain to see Rafa play for one last time?
UTEMURATOV: I really want to go there. There is a big buzz around this. A lot of people already approached me to help with the tickets. (laughter)
Source: Tennis.com
