HAMBURG, October 1, 2022
Following the prestigious Rothenbaum tournament in July and the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Finals in September, Hamburg will once again be the focus of the international tennis world next month. Then, the Free and Hanseatic city welcomes the stars of the ATP Challenger Tour as well as the top players of the ITF World Tennis Circuit.
The tournaments for women and men will take place from October 16 to 23 at the base of the Hamburg Tennis Association. Organizing a combined event at this level of professional tennis is unique in Germany. The men will compete for a total prize money of €45,730 at the Challenger Hamburg. A total of $60,000 will be offered at the Future Nord Women’s Tournament.
“A few years ago we organized a $10,000 women’s and men’s tournament in Kaltenkirchen in the North-East Regional League. We were able to successfully expand this over time, so that it was moved to the venue of the Hamburg Tennis Association. At the same time, the German Tennis Federaion (DTB) organized a Challenger tournament in 2019 and 2020, which was discontinued last year,” explains tournament director Björn Kroll.
“Small combined event”
A combined $25,000 event as part of the ITF World Tennis Tour was also scheduled for this season on the grounds of the Hamburg Tennis Association, but when the ATP approached the organizers and asked whether they wanted to increase the tournaments, they did not hesitate. “We see this as an upgrade for tennis in general and for Hamburg as a location,” says Kroll. “In addition, young German junior players will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience at international level.”
However, the organizers do not have much time to prepare, as the final confirmation was only given a good two weeks ago. “The city of Hamburg supports us to the best of its ability. That’s a great thing. It enables us to develop a “small combined event” after the Rothenbaum tournament, where players from the region can be involved,” says Kroll.
Attractive line-up
The entry list of the Hamburg Challenger is led by World No. 114 Dennis Novak. The 29-year-old Austrian is one of seven players ranked inside the Top 200, who will start the tournament as title favorites. Daniel Masur (No. 179) and Mats Moraing (No. 246) are part of the German contingent.
On the women’s side, spectators can look forward to Hamburg’s “local heroines”. The participation of Ella Seidel, who reached the final at the junior tournament of the US Open last year, and 2020 Germany’s National champion Noma Noha Akugue are expected to compete in the hard-court event. Eleven-time ITF Pro Circuit winner Tamara Korpatsch and the up-and-coming talent Eva Lys could also be part of the line-up.
“I’m already in contact with DTB head coach Barbara Rittner and Davis Cup captain Michael Kohlmann. We want to give as many German players as possible the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd,” says Kroll.
Entry List Hamburg Challenger
Dennis Novak 114
Henri Laaksonen 125
Gregoire Barrere 153
Gilles Simon 168
Jelle Sels 172
Alexander Ritschard 175
Daniel Masur 179
Altug Celikbilek 225
Jonas Forejtek 229
Oleksii Krutykh 239
Mats Moraing 246
Frederico Ferreira Silva 249
Harold Mayot 252
Joao Domingues 260
Salvatore Caruso 271
Alexey Vatutin 273
Benjamin Hassan 283
Evgeny Karlovskiy 286
Robin Haase 288
Billy Harris 294
Kacper Zuk 301
