BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, October 25, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
There’s no place like home. Just ask Tallon Griekspoor. If even home, sometimes, happens to be located in a neighboring country.
On Sunday afternoon, the 30-year-old Dutchman from Haarlem, just a couple of hours by car from Brussels, where he has regularly trained for many years, became the first player from the Netherlands to win the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open.
As the 11th edition of the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event in Belgium’s capital city came to a close, the 60th-ranked Griekspoor joined a growing list of players 30-and-older to have won the European Open title. He defeated 36-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and two minutes on Centre Court inside Palais 5 at Brussels Expo to capture his fourth-career ATP Tour singles title.
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It was the third-straight three-set win of the tournament week for Griekspoor, who rallied to beat World No. 20 and second seed Jiri Lehecka, a finalist each of the past two years, in the quarterfinals on Friday, then pulled through a comeback victory against World No. 21 and third seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in Saturday’s semifinal round to advance to the final.
“Another big fight. Very, very challenging match again,” Griekspoor said during his on-court interview with tournament announcer Sabine Appelmans, characterizing his title triumph over Struff. “We have played a couple of times before and all of them were absolute fights, which could have gone either way.
“I don’t know how it went my way [today]. I just tried to stay in there, hang in there. I wasn’t playing my best tennis in the first set. Somehow, I found some good tennis towards the end of the match.”
Indeed, somehow Griekspoor pulled his emotions together just in the nick of time – regaining a belief in himself and his abilities, too – to beat Struff, who was attempting to become the second-oldest Brussels champion in tournament history behind 2024 titlist Roberto Bautista Agut, who was also 36-years-old when he lifted the trophy two years ago. Among the others players in their 30s to have won the European Open include: Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France (32 years six months in 2017) and Andy Murray of Great Britain (32 years five months in 2019).
It was Griekspoor’s first since ATP Tour title triumph since Mallorca in June of 2025, and second on hard courts after Pune in 2023.
Get that trophy up, @Griekii ⭐️
@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/ZleIh60qmi
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2026
After the 58th-ranked Struff upset World No. 10 and top-seeded Arthur Fils of France less than 24 hours earlier to reach his first ATP Tour final on hard courts, the 6-foot-4-inch native of Warstein in western Germany was stymied in his quest to become the second-oldest ATP Tour champion this season after 39-year-old Novak Djokovic, who won the China Open in Beijing last month, and to win his second-career ATP Tour crown after winning his first one at Munich in 2024.
“I want to say congrats to Tallon,” Struff said after receiving his runner-up trophy. Following his fourth-straight loss to Griekspoor, inside it must have hurt Struff, but he remained gracious in his tone of voice as he spoke from the heart. “It’s always fun to play against you. “You’re an amazing player, an amazing guy. Congrats to you. You deserve it.”
In a battle of big-serving European right-handers, Struff broke through first to go ahead 3-2 and it seemed to rattle Griekspoor’s nerves. The Dutchman carried on a very-animated monologue as he sat at his bench with his shoulders slumped during the ensuing changeover. First, he chomped on a banana and tossed it aside. Then, he buried his head in his towel before yanking it off his head and throwing it to the ground in frustration.
Too hot to handle.
@Struffitennis is a set away from the title in Brussels, he leads Griekspoor 6-4.
@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/Z45Inn0iWM
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2026
Meanwhile, Struff consolidated the break to push ahead 4-2, then held three break points for a double-break lead before Griekspoor finally pulled himself together and fought them off to hold his serve. Although Griekspoor stayed in the set for another couple of games, Struff served out the 47-minute opening set and won 6-4.
Next, Griekspoor managed to focus his aggression and regrouped. He found himself in the second set, came firing back and broke Struff to go ahead 5-3 with a combination of power and finesse – and nervy serving, too, in which he faced no break points. Griekspoor efficiently served out the 33-minute second to prevail 6-3, and it was on to a third set.
All to play for ⚖️
@Griekii gets the break he was looking for and sends the Brussels final to a decider, 4-6, 6-3.
@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/C8fasnPYt4
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2026
In the decider, at 4-all, following a number of easy, comfortable holds, Griekspoor gained three break points against Struff following a couple of surprising volley errors by the German. Griekspoor earned a decisive break to go ahead 5-4 on his second break-point opportunity after Struff hit a forehand return long. It quashed a three-shot rally and the game proved to be a turning point in the match.
Suddenly, the title was focus and the match was on Griekspoor’s racquet. For once, he didn’t disappoint. The proud Dutchman who calls Brussels a second home pulled through with a love hold. He won on his first-match point opportunity. Upon securing victory, Griekspoor dropped to his knees and buried his head his arms. There was a feeling of joy – and, a sigh of relief, too.
Your night. You time. Your trophy. 🏆
@Griekii excels on his way to the Brussels title, overcoming Struff 4-6, 6-3, 6-4!
@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/AaASN0iAaz
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2026
Somehow, Griekspoor navigated his way through the final – and the tournament – and won the European Open title. He finished with 37 winners overall – including 19 aces – and won 84 percent (47 of 56) of his first-serve points against Struff. Griekspoor, who committed 25 unforced errors, saved six of seven break points and converted two of five break-point opportunities. He outpointed Struff 93-80. By comparison, Struff hit 39 winners – including 17 aces – but also made 31 unforced errors.
“Winning a tournament so close to home is very special,” Griekspoor said during his post-match news conference. Throughout the tournament, especially during his on-court interviews, Griekspoor thanked both his Dutch and Belgian fans for their support. “I’ve spent many years training here, so it really feels like a home tournament for me. The final was a tough battle that could have gone either way. I’m happy I was able to produce my best tennis when it mattered the most. This title is a wonderful reward for all the hard work.”
T.Griekspoor🇳🇱 crowns himself as 2026 CHAMPION 🏆💥
4-6, 6-3, 6-4
#BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/wQO8AbX8Iv— BNP Paribas Fortis European Open (@BNPPFEUOpen) October 25, 2026
Frantzen and Galloway win Brussels title in team debut
Constantin Frantzen and Robert Galloway capped their ATP Tour debut as a team by winning the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open doubles title with a comeback 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-8 victory over No. 4 seeds Sadio Doumbia of France and Bart Stevens of the Netherlands in an hour and 45 minutes on Centre Court Sunday afternoon.
The German/American pair reached the final by playing only match, defeating Petr Nouza of Czechia and Michael Venus of New Zealand on Monday in the first round before receiving walkover wins over Raphael Collignon and David Goffin of Belgium in the quarterfinals and Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and Alex Michelsen of the United States in the semifinals.
The 43rd-ranked Frantzen became the third German doubles champion in event history after Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in 2019, while No. 45 Galloway is the fourth American doubles champion.
OUR 2026 DOUBLE CHAMPIONS🏆
C. Frantzen 🇩🇪 & R. Galloway 🇺🇸
6-7, 6-4, 10-8
#BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/rbj8m8zixk— BNP Paribas Fortis European Open (@BNPPFEUOpen) October 25, 2026
Frantzen and Galloway combined to hit nine aces and won 80 percent (33 of 41) of their first-serve points. They converted three of 12 break points and outpointed their opponents 80-72.
The 28-year-old Frantzen improved to 2-6 in ATP Tour finals after winning his first ATP Tour title last year at Chengdu with Robin Haase of the Netherlands. This was his fifth final of the season after playing Montpellier, Rio de Janeiro and the Cincinnati Open with Haase.
Meanwhile, Galloway, 34, is now 4-10 in tour-level finals after winning two titles in 2024 – at Delray Beach and Mallorca with Julian Cash of Great Britain and Stockholm last year with Alexander Erler of Austria.
By the numbers
With his title win Sunday, Tallon Griekspoor has become the player from the Netherlands to win at least four tour-level titles in the Open Era, and the first Dutchman to win a tour-level title indoors since Martin Verkerk in 2003 at Milan on carpet.
“Quotable …”
“This was a special edition in many ways, not least because of David Goffin’s farewell and the move to a new venue for the final weekend. Thanks to excellent preparation, everything went smoothly and I’m extremely proud the entire team. We can look back on a highly successful edition, with more than 40,000 spectators attending the tournament, around 4,000 more than last year. Last year’s edition was already a success, but we’ve taken another step forward. More and more tennis fans are finding their way to our tournament, which is very encouraging. The tribute to David Goffin was undoubtedly one of the highlights. It was a wonderful and emotional moment, and David clearly enjoyed it as well.”
– Dick Norman, Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open, during his final-day tournament news conference.
