Electrolit and the USTA have struck a multi-year partnership that designates Electrolit as the Official Electrolyte Beverage of the US Open, beginning with the 2026 tournament. The deal places the brand directly in the hands of players through Electrolit-branded on-court coolers and other player-facing areas at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
For operators and beverage buyers tracking premium hydration trends, the partnership signals continued momentum behind functional sports drinks as venue staples rather than specialty items. Electrolit — which the brand positions as the No. 1 rapid hydration beverage in its category — will also maintain a dedicated promotional footprint on the tournament grounds, extending visibility well beyond the court itself.
The broadcast dimension of the deal adds another layer of reach. A rotating virtual on-court logo position will appear during US Open main draw coverage on ESPN in the United States, giving Electrolit sustained national exposure across the tournament's most-watched matches. That kind of premium sports association has historically translated into measurable retail and on-premise lift for beverage brands, a dynamic beverage industry analysts have documented across similar league and venue sponsorships.
The agreement reflects a broader shift in how hydration brands are competing for presence in high-traffic venues — stadiums, arenas, and major event facilities among them. For restaurant and hospitality operators considering beverage program updates, partnerships like this one underscore growing consumer familiarity with electrolyte-focused drinks outside of traditional gym or convenience-store settings. Coverage from Food & Beverage Magazine has tracked this premiumization wave across the non-alcoholic beverage segment for several cycles.
As functional beverages continue to carve space on menus alongside legacy sports drinks, operator interest in stocking brands with active lifestyle credibility is only rising. The Electrolit-USTA deal, with its combination of athlete-facing placement and national broadcast visibility, is the kind of brand-building move that tends to reshape buyer conversations at the distributor and on-premise level well before the tournament's first serve. Operators keeping pace with restaurant beverage program trends will want to note how deals like this accelerate consumer pull-through.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
