The Southern Tennis Foundation (STF), the charitable affiliate of United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern Section, announces the induction of three tennis luminaries into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame: Eddie Gonzalez, Paul Pittman and Bryan Shelton.
Eddie Gonzalez served as Atlanta Open Tournament Director and Chief Business Officer, 2013-2022, and was instrumental in establishing the ATP tournament as a major event in the Atlanta summer sports scene. He was hired as the first USTA Southern Director of Marketing & Sales and was awarded the USTA Southern Jacobs Bowl in 2021.
Eddie Gonzalez: From Wolfpack Star to Southern Staff to ATP Tournament Director
Highlights
• Named Atlanta Open Tournament Director and Chief Business Officer, 2013-2022
• Partnered with BB&T and Truist as the Atlanta Open’s name sponsors
• Established innovative programs like the tournament’s “Sunday Showdown” and other ground-breaking events
• Hired as the first USTA Southern Director of Marketing & Sales
• Awarded the USTA Southern Jacobs Bowl in 2021
• Won numerous USTA Gold and Silver Balls with daughter Gabriela
• North Carolina State varsity MVP and captain
Eddie Gonzalez’s influence in Southern tennis is as expansive as his upbeat personality and ability to sell tennis on local, national and international levels.
After growing up & starting his junior career in Rome, Ga., Gonzalez attended The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., notorious for its strong traditional tennis program that included Southern Tennis Hall of Fame members Roscoe Tanner, Zan Guerry and Head Coach Ned Caswell. Gonzalez attended North Carolina State University on a tennis scholarship. There he captained the Wolfpack men’s varsity team and was named two-time MVP of the program. He earned bachelor's degrees in Speech Communication & Political Science.
Gonzalez began promoting Southern tennis starting in 1990 when he was named USTA Southern Director of Sales & Marketing. The first person to serve in that role in the US, Gonzalez started numerous successful sponsor partnerships and expanded marketing initiatives for seven years. The next step in his career path was serving as Athlon Sports Vice President of Sales/National Accounts for 14 years.
During his years at Athlon, he continued to be involved in promoting tennis in the South by serving on the Marketing Committee, Nominating Committee, Junior Competition Committee, the Hispanic Outreach Task Force as well as the USTA Southern Board of Directors.
In 2021, he was awarded the Jacobs Bowl, considered the top volunteer award by USTA Southern. He received the USTA Georgia President’s Award and Family of the Year. Additionally, he served as a USTA Georgia Presidential Appointee. He has donated his time as a local charity fundraiser for the Atlanta Youth Tennis & Education Foundation, YMCA and Giving Kitchen. He was included in the 2019 USTA Southern Mickey McNulty Family of the Year award which was given to the family of his wife, Jennifer Lynn Hambrick Gonzalez.
A long-time resident of metro Atlanta, he is currently a member of the USTA Nominating Committee and served as a USTA Presidential Appointee for more than four years.
Gonzalez has had a top-flight adult tournament career and represented Georgia in The Callen Cup and Southern in the Donoff Cup, winning the title each year he has played. Gonzalez has also won the prestigious Atlanta Senior Invitational more than 10 times. He also was part of the German Bundesliga National Championship team in 2023, playing for Ratingen Tennis Club out of Dusseldorf, Germany.
But there are few competitive moments he enjoyed more than winning multiple USTA Gold & Silver balls with his daughter, Gabriela, in the USTA Father/Daughter Championships. Gabriela played tennis at Georgia Tech, while her brother, Tres (who won a Gold Ball in the USTA 16 & Under Winter Nationals), has gone on to a career in professional baseball, after starring at GA Tech, currently playing for the AA Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate.
As a final career step, Gonzalez was named Atlanta Open Tournament Director and Chief Business Officer in 2013 and headed the ATP World Tour 250 event for 10 years. Gonzalez helped cement the tournament’s location and success in the Georgia capital. The tournament flourished in Atlantic Station, a unique location for a pro tournament. The multi-purpose hub of restaurants, shops, hotel, movie theater and other attractions was a one-of-a-kind place to host an ATP event, which was unmatched on the international circuit.
For eight years, Gonzalez secured BB&T and Truist as the tournament’s name sponsors. Other partnerships propelled the tournament and made the July event a cornerstone of the city’s summer professional sports scene.
With Gonzalez's guidance and astute marketing abilities, the Atlanta Open broke new ground in the world of pro tennis. In 2017, for the first time ever, women played a feature exhibition match billed as the “Sunday Showdown” as seven-time singles Grand Slam champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams competed against Canada's No. 1-ranked player Genie Bouchard. Since then, other top WTA players such as Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, Kim Clijsters and Madison Keys have all been participants.
Gonzalez is credited with bringing the "World-Class Field, World-Class Fun" theme to the Atlanta Open and the "#ATLTENNIS PARTY" motto encouraged fans to see live professional tennis in a fun and festive atmosphere in the heart of Midtown Atlanta. Beyond the live tennis, 40,000 fans experienced the fun and excitement of Kid's Day, College Night and Military Appreciation Day.
Other firsts at the Atlanta Open included: a STEM program session; Diversity in Tennis Networking; digital display boards around the Stadium Court; concerts including the Commodores, LoCash & Home Free; ALTA Mixed AA-3 Finals and digital ticketing.
