Beeline Kazakhstan invents sloping 'Mountennis' to sell Almaty its first ATP 250

For the first time, the ATP 250 series was coming to Almaty, Kazakhstan, in October 2024 — a milestone many locals had not believed would happen in a city where tennis was never the most popular sport. Beeline Kazakhstan, sponsor of the Almaty Open and a longtime supporter of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, needed residents to stop being indifferent and actually come watch.

Build the world's first sloping tennis court on an Almaty mountainside and invent 'Mountennis' — an amateur two-day tournament that sells the city its own ATP 250.

GForce Grey noticed the city's defining feature — Almaty is built on a slope against the mountains — and turned it into the pitch. The agency built the world's first sloping professional tennis court on a mountainside, announced a brand-new sport called Mountennis, or tennis in Almaty style, and held a two-day amateur tournament on the inclined court on October 5–6, 2024, a week before the Almaty Open. The matches were streamed live over Beeline's mobile network, and the oddity did the rest: TV news and local bloggers picked the story up.

Coverage reached about 1.2 million people in a city of roughly 2 million, and the Almaty Open drew around 40,000 spectators — more than the higher-status ATP 500 Astana Open's 38,000. Mountennis took a Gold, plus a Crystal, at MAD STARS 2025 in Busan.

In October 2024 the ATP 250 series came to Almaty for the first time, a milestone many residents had not believed would happen in a city where tennis had never been the most popular sport. Beeline Kazakhstan, a longtime supporter of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation and sponsor of the new Almaty Open, wanted more than signage: it wanted an indifferent city to talk about the tournament and attend.

GForce Grey built the idea on Almaty's defining feature: the city sits on a slope against the mountains, and locals are proud of that identity. The agency constructed the world's first sloping professional tennis court on a mountainside and introduced Mountennis, 'tennis in Almaty style', as a brand-new sport. A two-day amateur tournament was held on the inclined court on October 5–6, 2024, one week before the Almaty Open, with matches streamed live over Beeline's mobile network.

The stunt became news on its own: TV broadcasts and bloggers covered the unusual court, and the coverage reached about 1.2 million people in a city of roughly 2 million. The Almaty Open then drew around 40,000 spectators, more than the higher-status ATP 500 Astana Open's 38,000, in a city where tennis had previously struggled for attention. The case later won a Gold and a Crystal at MAD STARS 2025 in Busan and circulated through international award platforms.

It mirrored the city's own identity — a mountainside slope — so the news felt like local pride being celebrated rather than an ad being pushed.

Instead of advertising the tournament, it gave Almaty an experience and a story to share, earning TV and blogger coverage before a single ticket push.

Turning spectators into amateur players on an absurd court made the campaign participatory rather than merely visible.

The curiosity it created had a concrete destination: the Almaty Open one week later, which drew 40,000 spectators.

Make the place itself the idea: Mountennis sold tickets by turning Almaty's famous slope into the world's most local tennis court.

The Almaty Open became the campaign's payoff: around 40,000 spectators attended, beating the 38,000 drawn by the higher-status ATP 500 in Astana and giving the city a measurable case for keeping top-tier tennis. Mountennis was recognized with a Gold and a Crystal at MAD STARS 2025 in Busan, and the case film continued to appear through 2025 on international award platforms such as the Epica Awards winners' gallery, keeping the activation alive as a reference for event-driven sports marketing.