TheATP Challenger Tour (known until the end of 2008 as theATP Challenger Series) is a series of international men's professionaltennis tournaments. It was founded in 1976[1] as a replacement for the ILTF Satellite Circuit (founded in 1971)[2] as the second tier of tennis.
The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind theATP Tour and ahead of theITF World Tennis Tour tournaments. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by theAssociation of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Players who succeed on the ATP Challenger Tour earn sufficient ranking points to enter the main or qualifying draws at ATP Tour tournaments. Players on the Challenger Tour are typically young players looking to advance their careers, those who fail to qualify for ATP events, or former ATP Tour players looking to return to the top tour.
The first challenger events were held in 1978, with eighteen events taking place. Two were held on the week beginning January 8, one inAuckland and another inHobart. The next events were held one at a time beginning June 18 and ending August 18 in the following U.S. locations, in order:Shreveport,Birmingham,Asheville,Raleigh,Hilton Head,Virginia Beach,Wall,Cape Cod, andLancaster. Events continued after a one-month hiatus with two that begun on September 24 and 25, one inTinton Falls, New Jersey, and inLincoln, Nebraska, respectively.[3] The following week saw one event played, inSalt Lake City, then two played simultaneously inTel Aviv andSan Ramon, California, then one played the following week inPasadena. A final event was played a month later inKyoto. In comparison, the 2008 schedule saw 178 events played in more than 40 countries.
In efforts to further the progression of college and junior players into the professional tour, the ATP Challenger Tour has partnered with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to give players more opportunities on the professional tour. Those that finish in the top 10 of the end-of-year college rankings are now eligible for six wild cards into the main draw of Challenger events, and if they have finished their college education, they receive 8 of those wild cards. Those that finish in the 11 through 20 range of the collegiate rankings are eligible for six qualifying wild cards, with those who have completed their college education being eligible for eight wild cards.[4]
Much like the partnership with the ITA, the Challenger Tour also partnered with the ITF. This partnership granted those with year-end rankings inside the top 10 in the world eligible for eight main draw Challenger Tour wildcards, and those who finished the year between 11 and 20 in the world receiving eight Challenger Tour qualifying wildcards.[5]
In 2022, during the most numerous season in the tour's history,[6] the ATP Tour announced an overhaul of the tournaments system from 2023 season. Challenger 110 and Challenger 90 events were scrapped, Challenger 80 reduced to the Challenger 75 while the prize money requirements for it and Challenger 100 were increased. It also introduced the new highest category − Challenger 175 to be inaugurally held in the second week of Indian Wells, Rome and MadridATP Tour Masters 1000 events.[7]
Players have usually had success at theFutures tournaments of theITF Men's Circuit before competing in Challengers. Due to the lower level of points and money available at the Challenger level, most players in a Challenger have a world ranking of 100 to 500 for a $35K tournament and 50 to 250 for a $150K tournament. An exception happens during the second week of aGrand Slam tournament, when top-100 players who have already lost in the Slam try to take a wild card entry into a Challenger tournament beginning that second week.
In February 2007, Tretorn became the official ball of the Challenger Series, and the sponsor of a new series consisting of those Challenger tournaments with prize money of $100,000 or more. They renewed the sponsorship with the ATP in 2010 and extended it until the end of 2011.
Lu Yen-hsun
Dudi Sela
Paolo Lorenzi
Carlos Berlocq
Go Soeda
Blaz Kavcic
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Rogério Dutra Silva
Ivo Karlović
Richard Gasquet
Dick Norman
Bob Carmichael
Michael Chang
Kent Carlsson
Marcos Ondruska
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Novak Djokovic
