ATP Challenger Series - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

tournaments. The top tier of men's tennis is the ATP World Tour, Challenger Tour events are the second highest level of competition, and the Futures tournaments on the ITF Men's Circuit

ITF Men's Circuit

The ITF Men's Circuit is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world that are organized by the International Tennis Federation. The ITF Men's Circuit represents the lowest rung of the men's professional tennis ladder...

are the third and final tier of international professional competition. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by the Association of Tennis Professionals

Association of Tennis Professionals

The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...

. This differs from women's tennis, where all the tournaments below WTA Tour level, i.e. the equivalent of both Challengers and Futures, form part of the ITF Women's Circuit

ITF Women's Circuit

The ITF Women's Circuit is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. It serves as the developmental circuit for the WTA Tour, which is run by the independent Women's Tennis Association...

administered by the International Tennis Federation

International Tennis Federation

The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...

. Players who succeed on the ATP Challenger Tour earn sufficient ranking points to become eligible for main draw or qualifying draw entry at ATP World Tour tournaments.

History of challenger events

The first challenger events were held in 1978, with eighteen events taking place. Two were held on the week beginning January 8, one in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

and another in Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

. 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

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, Asheville, Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, Hilton Head, Virginia Beach, Wall, Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

, and Lancaster

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...

.

Events continued after a one-month hiatus with two begun September 24 and 25, one in Tinton Falls, New Jersey

Tinton Falls, New Jersey

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 15,053 people, 5,883 households, and 3,976 families residing in the borough. The population density was 965.7 people per square mile . There were 6,211 housing units at an average density of 398.4 per square mile...

and in Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska

The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....

respectively. The following week saw one event played, in Salt Lake City, then two played simultaneously in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

and San Ramon, California

San Ramon, California

-2010 census:The 2010 United States Census reported that San Ramon had a population of 72,148. The population density was 3,991.1 people per square mile...

, then one played the following week in Pasadena

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

. A final event was played a month later in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. In comparison the 2008 schedule saw 178 events played in more than 40 countries.

Present-day prize money and ranking points

Challenger tournaments offer total prize money ranging from $35,000 up to $150,000+, which, along with whether the tournament provides hospitality (food and lodging) to the players, determines the number of points a player gets for winning each match in the tournament.

Hospitality bumps the points distribution up one level, and the points to the overall winner range from 75 points for a $35K tournament to 125 points for $150K with Hospitality, in contrast of ATP-level tournaments, which offer total prize money from $400K to over $6 Million and points to the overall winners from 250 to 2000.

As a point of reference, player rankings are based on points accumulated in the previous 52 weeks, and in any given week of rankings, a player who has earned 400 points in the last 52 weeks would be ranked around the 100th position. 200 points would get him a ranking near 200th, while with 100 points he would get to about the 350th, and 50 points would put him close to the 500th. So rankings points earned in Challengers can help a player to move up in the rankings quickly.

Player quality

Players have usually had success at the Futures tournaments of the ATP Tour 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 $25K tournament and 50 to 250 for a $150K tournament.

An exception happens during the second week of a Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

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.

Tretorn Serie+

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 extend it all the way through until the end of 2011.

Events

2010 champions

Tournament	Sponsored name	City	Country	Surface	Current singles champions	Current doubles champions
Belgrade GEMAX Open The MT:S Open powered by Sony Ericsson is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the Tennis Club Gemax in Belgrade, Serbia, since 2002.-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:**...	GEMAX Open	Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...		Carpet (i)	Karol Beck Karol Beck Karol Beck is a male tennis player from Slovakia, who turned professional in 2001. He has been ranked as high as 36th in the world .- Career :On October 25, 2004, Beck lost in the final of the St...	Ilija Bozoljac Ilija Bozoljac Ilija Bozoljac or Ilia Bozoljac is a professional male tennis player from Serbia.... / Jamie Delgado Jamie Delgado Jamie Delgado is a professional male tennis player from Great Britain. Delgado has represented the UK in the Davis Cup, most recently in 2006. His best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the second round on three occasions, most notably in 2001 where he played against former champion Andre...
Tunisia Tunis Open The Tunis Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the Tennis Club de Tunis in Tunis, Tunisia, since 2005....	Tunis Open	Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...		Clay (Red) (i)	José Acasuso José Acasuso José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favours clay. He is known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both sides...	Jeff Coetzee Jeff Coetzee Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist.... / Kristof Vliegen Kristof Vliegen Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...
Lugano	BSI Challenger Lugano	Lugano Lugano Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...		Clay (Red)	Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...	Frederico Gil Frederico Gil Frederico Gil is a Portuguese professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Tour. In April 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 62, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held until September when Rui Machado placed 61st in the rankings... / Christophe Rochus Christophe Rochus Christophe Rochus is a retired professional male tennis player from Belgium.Rochus is the older brother of Olivier Rochus, also a tennis player who has been slightly more successful than Christophe. He reached the singles finals of two ATP tournaments: Valencia and Rotterdam but lost them both...
Torino Sporting Challenger The Sporting Challenger is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the Circolo della Stampa in Turin, Italy, since 2002....	Sporting Challenger	Torino		Hard	Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli is a professional Italian tennis player.- 2003 :In 2003, Bolelli reached his first ITF Futures tournament semifinal at Egypt F1, losing to 485th-ranked Jaroslav Pospíšil. He played entirely Futures events except for one Challenger tournament in Brindisi, losing to Galo Blanco in the...	Frederico Gil Frederico Gil Frederico Gil is a Portuguese professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Tour. In April 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 62, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held until September when Rui Machado placed 61st in the rankings... / Carlos Berlocq Carlos Berlocq Carlos Alberto Berlocq is an Argentine professional male tennis player. He is nicknamed Charly. Berlocq's favourite surface is clay and he is currently coached by Jorge Gerosi.-Career:...
Scheveningen Siemens Open The Hague Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Scheveningen, Netherlands, since 1993.-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:**...	Siemens Open	Scheveningen		Clay (Red)	Denis Gremelmayr Denis Gremelmayr Denis Gremelmayr is a German male tennis player. Gremelmayr turned pro in 2000 and reached #97 in August, 2006. He spent 2007 in the top 200 and finished the year at #119...	Franco Ferreiro Franco Ferreiro Franco Ferreiro is a professional Brazilian tennis player. He qualified for the 2009 French Open, but lost to Feliciano López in five sets in the first round after leading two sets to love.-Doubles: 2 :... / Harsh Mankad Harsh Mankad ----Harsh Mankad is a professional tennis player from India. He is the grandson of cricketer Vinoo Mankad, and the son of cricketer Ashok Mankad, and tennis player Nirupama Vasant....
Pozoblanco Open Diputación The Open Diputación Ciudad de Pozoblanco is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It has been held annually at the Club Tenis Pozoblanco in Pozoblanco, Spain since...	Open Diputación	Pozoblanco Pozoblanco Pozoblanco is a town in the province of Córdoba, southern Spain, in the north-central part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located near the headwaters of the Guadamatillas and of other small sub-tributaries of the Guadiana, in the lowlands of Los Pedroches, which lie between the...		Hard	Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo is a professional male tennis player from Spain. His career-high ATP entry ranking is #50 , and his current ranking is #84 . He turned pro in 1998...	Marcel Granollers Marcel Granollers Marcel Granollers i Pujol is a professional tennis player from Spain who turned professional in 2003. He reached his highest singles ranking of World Number 33 on August 1, 2011, and his highest doubles ranking of World Number 5.-2006:Granollers made the first round of the Wimbledon tournament in... / Gerard Granollers-Pujol Gerard Granollers-Pujol Gerard Granollers Pujol is a professional tennis player from Spain. He has won two ATP Challenger tournament titles, both in doubles....
Poznań	Poznań Porsche Open	Poznań Poznan Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...		Clay (Red)	Denis Gremelmayr Denis Gremelmayr Denis Gremelmayr is a German male tennis player. Gremelmayr turned pro in 2000 and reached #97 in August, 2006. He spent 2007 in the top 200 and finished the year at #119...	Rui Machado Rui Machado Rui Machado is a Portuguese professional tennis player that competes in the ATP World Tour. In October 2011, he achieved he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 59, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held.- Early life :At the age of six, Machado was first introduced to... / Daniel Muñoz-De La Nava Daniel Muñoz-De La Nava Daniel Muñoz de la Nava is a Spanish professional tennis player.-Singles: 5 :-Doubles: 19 :-External links:...
Cordenons Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup The Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the A.S.D. Eurotennis Club in Cordenons, Italy, since 2004.-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:**...	Zucchetti Kos Tennis Cup	Cordenons Cordenons Cordenons is a comune in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 90 km northwest of Trieste and about 4 km northeast of Pordenone...		Clay (Red)	Steve Darcis Steve Darcis Steve Darcis is a male professional tennis player. He achieved his career high ranking of #44 on 12 May 2008.-2007:...	Robin Haase Robin Haase Robin Haase is a Dutch tennis player. Haase is currently the highest-ranked Dutch player, with his career high of No. 41 coming on 29 August 2011. He is endorsed by Head and SNS Reaal.-Career:... / Rogier Wassen Rogier Wassen Rogier Wassen is a Dutch tennis player who competes regularly on the ATP Tour as a doubles player.Wassen reached his highest doubles ranking on the ATP Tour on 10 September 2007 when he became world no. 24. The right-hander has won three ATP doubles titles...
City of San Marino	San Marino CEPU Open	City of San Marino		Clay (Red)	Robin Haase Robin Haase Robin Haase is a Dutch tennis player. Haase is currently the highest-ranked Dutch player, with his career high of No. 41 coming on 29 August 2011. He is endorsed by Head and SNS Reaal.-Career:...	Daniele Bracciali Daniele Bracciali Daniele Bracciali is an Italian tennis player. His career-high ranking in singles is World No. 49, achieved on May 8, 2006.-Career:Bracciali won his only ATP singles title so far in April 2006, at Casablanca, on clay... / Lovro Zovko Lovro Zovko Lovro Zovko is a professional Croatian tennis player.-Tennis career:Early on in 2000 and 2001, Zovko reached the Umag final both years with Ivan Ljubičić....
Segovia	Open Castilla y León	Segovia Segovia Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...		Hard	Daniel Gimeno-Traver	Thiago Alves Thiago Alves (tennis) Thiago Alves is a professional tennis player who competes mainly on the ITF Tour. His career high rank was #88, achieved on July 13, 2009.- In Grand Slams :He has made four Grand Slam main draw appearances, qualifying into the... / Franco Ferreiro Franco Ferreiro Franco Ferreiro is a professional Brazilian tennis player. He qualified for the 2009 French Open, but lost to Feliciano López in five sets in the first round after leading two sets to love.-Doubles: 2 :...
Szczecin Pekao Open The Pekao Szczecin Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the Wojska Polskiego in Szczecin, Poland, since 1993 .-Key:-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:**...	Pekao Open	Szczecin Szczecin Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....		Hard	Pablo Cuevas Pablo Cuevas Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....	Dustin Brown Dustin Brown (tennis) Dustin Brown is a German-Jamaican professional tennis player. Brown competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour, both in singles and doubles. He reached his highest ATP singles ranking, No. 89, and his highest ATP doubles ranking, No... / Rogier Wassen Rogier Wassen Rogier Wassen is a Dutch tennis player who competes regularly on the ATP Tour as a doubles player.Wassen reached his highest doubles ranking on the ATP Tour on 10 September 2007 when he became world no. 24. The right-hander has won three ATP doubles titles...
Mons Ethias Trophy The Ethias Trophy is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It has been held annually in Mons, Belgium, since 2005.-Singles:-Doubles:...	Ethias Trophy	Mons Mons Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...		Hard (i)	Adrian Mannarino Adrian Mannarino Adrian Mannarino is a professional tennis player from France. Mannarino competes predominantly on the ATP Challenger Series and Futures circuit. His career high rank is #53, achieved on 16 May 2011....	Filip Polášek Filip Polášek Filip Polášek is a professional tennis player from Slovakia. Polášek's highest doubles ranking has been World Number 22 as of June 22, 2009. Polášek's highest singles ranking has been World Number 555 on November 26, 2007.... / Igor Zelenay Igor Zelenay Igor Zelenay is a professional tennis player. He mainly plays doubles, and his career high rank is 74, achieved on 2 February 2009. His career high in singles is 279, achieved on August 1, 2005.-Doubles:...
Bratislava Tatra Banka Slovak Open The Ritro Slovak Open is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Tretorn SERIE+ of Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the Národné Tenisové Centrum in Bratislava, Slovakia, since 2000.-Men's Singles:-Men's...	Tatra Banka Slovak Open	Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...		Hard (i)	Martin Kližan Martin Kližan Martin Kližan is a Slovak tennis player. In 2005 he won European Junior Championship in the Under 16 category, in both, singles and doubles...	Colin Fleming Colin Fleming Colin Fleming is a British professional tennis player who lives in Linlithgow.He was selected for 2009 Great Britain Davis Cup team.... / Jamie Murray Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray is a British tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles and is Britain's number 1 doubles player. He is the older brother of Andy Murray. He won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2007 with Jelena Janković. Murray had an early career partnership with Eric Butorac,...