LONDON, June 21, 2016

The ATP has announced the ATP Challenger Tournaments of the Year. From 166 tournaments held worldwide the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, the Ethias Trophy in Mons as well as the Monterrey Open in Mexico have come out as the most favoured events. The award is based on a voting from the players.

After 2005 and 2014, the €106,500 event in Braunschweig has been awarded for the third time. Director Volker Jaecke and Tournament Promoter and CEO of Brunswiek Marketing Harald Tenzer, said:

“A very special thanks to the ATP and all the players who have voted for our ATP Challenger Sparkassen OPEN in Braunschweig. It is such an honour for the whole team to receive this Award again. After winning the Award in 2014, we have been even more motivated to organise a great tournament for players, spectators, sponsors and partners in 2015. However, we did not expect the effort to be paid off so quickly. This year, we were able to improve several areas to make players feel even more comfortable.”

The 23rd edition will be held at the THC Braunschweig from 2 to 9 July 2016. Defending champion is Filip Krajinovic. As in the past, the week of tennis action will be complemented with a lot of side events. According to the motto “Tennis meets Nighlife”, spectators can look forward to live music acts and further entertainment throughout the week. About 32,000 spectators will be awaited during the 10 days.

“It is important to mention that this tournament could not exist without all the sponsors and partners, who support us each year. We are therefore pleased to announce that our title sponsor, Braunschweigische Landessparkasse, has renewed for five more years. We are looking forward to another year of successful cooperation and organisation with the ATP.”

The Ethias Trophy in Mons celebrated its 10th edition in 2015 with Illya Marchenko claiming the title. About 20,000 people came to watch the week of tennis in Europe’s Capital of Culture 2015.

“In the name of Ethias and the organisation committee, we are proud to receive this award. Year after year, we are trying to make this event the most attractive to the players. As a former player on the WTA, I understand better than anyone what the players are expecting during a tournament. With my team, we do our best to make sure that the players can perform in the best conditions and make their stay the most comfortable. This is the best recognition we can get,” said Tournament Director Dominique Monami.

The Monterrey Open is held in Mexico’s third largest city at the Sierra Madre Tennis Club and seemed to make an enormous impact on players winning the prestigious Best Challenger Award with its inaugural edition. Thiemo de Bakker captured his 10th ATP Challenger career title in 2015. Tournament Director Hernan Garza stated:

“It is an honour for us have been named one of the winners of the ATP Challenger of the Year awards for 2015, which we look forward to receiving in November at the Barclays ATP Tour World Finals in London. This confirms the good direction we have taken with the Monterrey Challenger, and commits us to continue our efforts to provide the players and the public a high quality event.”