Why Stella Artois invests in tennis, where no one drinks beer

Stella Artois has joined the ATP Tour as a gold partner. At first glance, it’s a surprising move: a beer brand partnering with one of the most sober sports.

Unlike football stadiums, tennis stands are rarely associated with pints of lager. But for Stella, this isn’t about volume sales — it’s about presence. More precisely, about positioning.

The agreement, running through 2028, makes Stella Artois the official beer of the ATP Tour and the ATP Finals in Turin. The deal includes on-court branding, activations in VIP zones, exclusive pouring rights, and co-produced content — including The Perfect Serve, a monthly fan vote for the best serve on tour.

This is not a sudden pivot, but a continuation of a clear strategy. Stella Artois already partners with Wimbledon (a $16.5 million deal over three years) and Roland-Garros (a $2.5 million agreement in 2024). Tennis fits the brand’s ambition to be present in cultural rather than mass-market spaces.

Notably, even within AB InBev, Stella stands alone in targeting tennis — unlike Budweiser or Corona. The reason lies in brand architecture.

Stella is no longer “the beer of British pubs,” as it was known in the 1990s. It has evolved into a premium urban label, building its image through aesthetics, selectivity, and style. Featuring the Stella Artois logo alongside ATP, Wimbledon, and Roland-Garros reinforces that image. This isn’t about sales in fan zones — it’s about appearing in the right visual context: guest area photos, co-branded video segments, and editorial coverage of top-level tennis.

This isn’t a campaign for mass awareness. It’s a tool for fine-tuning the brand’s tone among a culturally fluent, urban audience — one that values visual precision, curated settings, and social selectivity.

Cover photo: ATP Tour