The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has partnered with digital art platform Artchild to launch fan-customizable digital and physical tennis posters at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy later this month.
The core poster will be designed by Los Angeles-based artist Honor Titus for the season-ending tournament from November 12 to 19. Titus, internationally known for his tennis-themed paintings, said in a press release that tennis “is so rich in history and elegant nuances that it is an excellent subject for the artist.”
Fans can customize their own version of the official Nitto ATP Finals poster on Artchild’s digital platform using artist-curated color palettes. The posters will be printed and shipped to buyers along with an NFT collectible minted on Polygon, an Ethereum scaling network.
Examples of the tailor-made ATP posters. Image: ATP
A number of fan-designed posters will be displayed in the tournament’s Pala Alpitour arena. The original Titus poster will only be available during the 2023 finale and will be sold for $50 plus shipping for both the NFT version and the physical print. It will be available online and in the Nitto ATP Finals fan village.
Singles players competing in the Nitto ATP Finals will also create unique versions of the poster that will be auctioned off for charity during the event. Proceeds will go to an environmental initiative to promote green spaces in Turin, the host city.
Artist Honor Titus. Image: Mikayla Jean Miller/ATP
According to the ATP, the collaboration builds on a long tradition of iconic sports posters collected by generations of fans. Mark Epps, ATP’s director of communications and web, said the organization was inspired to “reimagine one of the most iconic collectibles in tennis culture: the tournament poster.”
Tennis meets technology as Tiffany, Amex and Wilson descend on the US Open
This is not ATP’s first NFT initiative. Last November, the competition partnered with generative art platform Art Blocks in collaboration with artist Martin Grasser to launch the digital art series ‘Love’, based on competition data from the 2022 finals. Owners of these “Love” NFT pieces can get one of the 2023 customizable posters claim.