Overview Taste of Tennis is an evening party held around the pro tennis tour's stops, where players put on aprons and cook beside restaurant chefs in front of a room of fans, celebrities and tennis insiders. The series runs in several cities a year; its 2026 calendar took in Indian Wells, Miami, New York City and Dallas, and past editions have also run in London and Washington, D.C. Judi and Penny Lerner, a mother-and-daughter team, founded it in 1999 through their company AYS Sports Marketing, which produces every event. On site The format is a walk-around tasting with cocktails and a DJ, and the players are part of the program: they have been taught to roll sushi, made pasta and gone head to head in cooking competitions. The 2026 Indian Wells night ran from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort and Villas, hosted by former ATP player and Tennis Channel commentator Nick Monroe, with Top Chef alum Angelo Sosa leading 14 desert chefs, among them Susan Feniger and Marissa Hermer, and DJ Danny Castillo on the decks. The 2026 New York edition was a Friday night at Flyfish Club. Around the parties the series runs watch parties, a chef-in-residence program, a Champions Dinner Series and a gifting suite. Audience Taste of Tennis sells the night as a chance to mingle with tennis stars, insiders and celebrities, and the parties land in tournament weeks, when the players are already in town. Guests circulate between chef stations with a drink rather than sitting down to dinner, so ticket holders and players share the same floor. Talent and Influencers Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams, John McEnroe, Maria Sharapova, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios have all taken part. At Indian Wells the list has included Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Qinwen Zheng, Lorenzo Musetti, Gael Monfils, Elina Svitolina and Emma Navarro. Chefs have included Masaharu Morimoto, Emeril Lagasse, Emma Bengtsson of Aquavit, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, and David Shim of COTE. Track record The series ran for years as Citi Taste of Tennis. According to the property's own listing, Citi held the title for eight consecutive years, and BNP Paribas followed for six. Brand presence Partners build into the night rather than hang signs on it. At Indian Wells in 2026, BOSS, Segafredo, Maestro Dobel Tequila, Clos du Bois, VOSS and World of Hyatt were partners alongside the Grand Hyatt and the City of Indian Wells. A title partner can take the whole series and choose its markets, and AYS handles talent, production, PR, influencer work, content and sponsor management end to end.