HEILBRONN/STARNBERG, October 1, 2026
The NECKARCUP will not be held in 2027. After twelve editions – interrupted only by the pandemic year – the organisers of the ATP Challenger event have decided to take a one-year break in order to reassess the tournament’s future and the conditions required for its continuation.
In a message to its long-standing sponsors, partners and supporters, the organisers described the decision as a difficult but necessary step. The intention is to use 2027 to review the tournament’s structures, monitor the economic environment and develop ideas for a possible return in 2028.
“We will pause in 2027,” the organisers announced. “During this time, we will reassess our situation, observe the economic conditions and then decide whether and how the NECKARCUP will continue.”
The tournament has undergone significant changes in recent years. After ten successful editions in Heilbronn, the NECKARCUP moved to Bad Rappenau in 2024, marking the end of an important chapter and the beginning of a new one. The two editions at the new venue were described by the organisers as both a major challenge and a valuable experience.
“From the perspective of the event itself, this was definitely the right decision,” the organisers said, pointing to the greater potential of the new location and the opportunity to further enhance the tournament.
At the same time, however, the past few years have highlighted the increasingly difficult conditions facing professional sporting events. Economic uncertainty, rising prices and growing demands on the organisation and infrastructure of a professional tennis tournament have increased the financial burden. The organisers also expect further increases in operating and venue costs.
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Another challenge is the availability of volunteers. The NECKARCUP has traditionally relied heavily on the commitment of people contributing their time and expertise to the event. With fewer volunteers available, more tasks have to be handled by professional staff and external service providers, creating additional costs.
The organisers stressed that they do not want to compromise on the quality of the tournament.
“We do not want to stage the NECKARCUP just for the sake of staging it. It is all or nothing. If it returns, it should continue at the same high professional level.”
Their ambition is to maintain the NECKARCUP as a high-quality event both on and off the court – from sporting standards and organisation to the experience offered to spectators, partners and sponsors.
The organisers also emphasised that the NECKARCUP has long since become much more than a one-week tennis tournament.
“The NECKARCUP is a year-round project.”
Planning for sponsorship, logistics, permits, communications, player services, infrastructure and staffing begins many months before the first ball is struck. According to the organisers, the tournament therefore represents not only a substantial financial commitment but also a considerable personal investment.
The 2027 break will provide an opportunity to step back, review existing structures and consider how the NECKARCUP could become “even more interesting, attractive and sustainable” in the future.
At the heart of that process will be a fundamental question posed by the organisers: What would be missing if the NECKARCUP did not take place for one year?
After twelve years of investing considerable time, energy and personal commitment into the tournament, the organisers want to use the break to assess the event’s importance to spectators, sponsors, partners and the wider region – as well as to themselves.
The decision has also been met with disappointment within the sport. According to the organisers, both the ATP and the German Tennis Federation (DTB) have received the news with regret and regard the interruption as a significant loss for tennis.
Despite the decision to pause, the organisers are keen to emphasise that 2027 should not be regarded as the end of the NECKARCUP.
“We expressly do not see this interruption as a farewell, but as an opportunity for a new beginning.”
The stated goal is to bring the NECKARCUP back in 2028, provided that the economic, organisational and structural conditions allow it.
Before making the decision public, the organisers also expressed their gratitude to the tournament’s long-standing sponsors, partners, volunteers and supporters.
“Without this support, the NECKARCUP would not have existed in this form,” they said.
After twelve years of building the tournament into an established event on the international tennis calendar, the organisers now hope that a year away from competition will provide the opportunity to return with renewed energy, fresh ideas and a sustainable concept.
The NECKARCUP may therefore be taking a break – but the ambition is to make 2028 the beginning of its next chapter.
