The ATP Challenger Tour travelled far and wide to host tournaments every week this season. From the world’s largest cities, to intimate settings in remote areas, the Challenger circuit brought high-quality tennis to all corners of the globe.
This season finished with a record-setting 184 tournaments across 38 countries. While players work hard for points, prize money, and the chance of launching their career, tournament directors, supervisors, and volunteers also put in hard yards to run the events.
ATPTour.com reviews Challenger tournaments in Finland, Bosnia, Lithuania, South Korea, and Japan, where special milestones were celebrated this year.
In July, the Tampere Open, which is the longest-running event on the Challenger Tour, became the first tournament to celebrate its 40-year anniversary.
Led by tournament director and former World No. 48 Veli Paloheimo, a native of Tampere, the tournament has become a beacon on the Challenger Tour and a summer staple in Finland.
“Of course we’re proud of it,” Paloheimo said. “This is the biggest tournament in Finland, so it is nice that we have this here for so long in Tampere. It is a full effort with a few hundred volunteers every year. Coming together as a community is what makes this so special for everyone.”
The Challenger Tour is the springboard to success for the stars of tomorrow and the Tampere Open has seen players such as Carlos Moya, Robin Soderling, David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet and David Goffin all compete at the clay court event before rising to decorated careers.
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The Srpska Open, located in Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, celebrated their 20th year anniversary in August. With a population centre of just 138,000, Banja Luka is one of the smallest cities to host a Challenger tournament for 20 years or more. The Banja Luka Challenger is the longest-running men’s professional tennis tournament in the Balkan region of southeast Europe.
Top professionals such as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Diego Schwartzman, Fabio Fognini and Janko Tipsarevic have all competed at the Challenger in Bosnia before climbing to the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The clay court event has carved its own identity on the Challenger Tour for the past two decades and has left a strong impression on players.
“I really enjoyed my time in Banja Luka,” said 2021 champion Juan Manuel Cerundolo….
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