NIMES, April 4, 2026 (Media Release)
Felix Auger-Aliassime is the 2026 Bastide UTS Nimes champion after an incredible two days at the sold-out 2,000-year-old Arenes de Nimes in Southern France.
The Canadian, who is currently World No. 7, earned himself $301,000USD and the most prestigious clay court title of his career with a dramatic sudden death victory over defending UTS Nimes champion and World No. 12 Casper Ruud on Saturday.
Over 21,000 people packed the iconic Roman amphitheater over two days with 13,000 for the final day, the biggest crowd ever recorded for a UTS Tour event. They were treated to some thrilling tennis, thanks to UTS’s unique fast-paced format and scoring system. Auger Aliassime managed to eke out a tight sudden death decider after levelling the match at two quarters each, taking the match 10-11, 14-10, 15-14, 15-11 and 2-0 and earning himself a noisy ovation which rang around the historic venue.
This tennis place is already a classic! 😎#BastideUTSNîmes 2026 pic.twitter.com/toh2ScFS8M
— UTS Tour (@uts_tour_) April 4, 2026
Auger Aliassime had to compete with a strong line-up in Nimes, including Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Bublik and Ugo Humbert.
The UTS Tour, founded in 2020 by globally respected tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, has grown into a highly successful elite global tennis league featuring a succession of the world’s best male players and with events in some of the world’s most exciting cities. It has brought its innovative, fast-moving tennis format to events in London, Los Angeles, New York, Guadalajara, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Oslo, and Nimes. It will make its debut in South America this July when the UTS Tour heads to Rio, a city with a rich sporting pedigree having hosted the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
