The Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, also called the Hurlingham Tennis Classic, is a popular grass-court tennis exhibition, which is held annually at the Hurlingham Club, which is a private exclusive athletic club.
The club was founded back in 1869, and it has a Georgian-style clubhouse, with sports such as polo, golf, croquet, cricket, and bowls being played at the Hurlingham Club. Every year since 1994, also a tennis tournament is played at the Hurlingham Club.
Due to sponsorship reasons, this tournament has held many different names over the years. Sometimes, it's simply referred to as the Hurlingham Tennis Classic, but it was also called the BNP Paribas Tennis Classic and the Aspall Tennis Classic at Hurlingham.
Like the Boodles Challenge, the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic is held one week before the season's only grass-court Grand Slam tournament - Wimbledon.
Over the years, the likes of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Moya, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Maria Sharapova have attended this exhibition tournament to prepare for their campaigns in the third major of the season. In the past, two-time Wimbledon champion Murray called the tournament a "perfect warm-up."
"It’s the perfect way for me to warm up for Wimbledon - there’s always a great atmosphere and the setting is absolutely stunning."
On top of the men's singles competition, legends play at the exhibition as well, competing in a relaxed doubles format. In the most recent years, the Hurlingham Club also hosted the ATP Champions Tour, which held one of its legs during the exhibition tournament in London.
