ATP CHALLENGER MONZA

The news is loaded with fascination and importance: in 2025 Monza will host ainternational tournament of the ATP Challenger Tour. 

On the clay courts of the Villa Reale Tennis, already in the past the scene of challenges between many future champions, it will be played from Sunday, April 6 to Sunday, April 13, with an event that further enriches the calendar of a circuit that has Italy as the world's leading nation in terms of events organized. 

The Monza one, of category 100 (like the points up for grabs for the winner) and endowed with an impressive 143,000 euros in prize money, automatically becomes one of the most prestigious tournaments in the Belpaese, in a unique setting such as Monza Park, back on the racquet world map in a golden period for Italian tennis, never so successful, admired and talked about. "For us says Cristiano Crippa, president of Villa Reale Tennis- it is a source of pride to be able to organize an event of international relevance that will allow people to appreciate, in addition to the high quality of sport and tennis, the contiguity of the site where the tournament takes place, with the complex of the Royal Palace of Monza. In particular, the Villa Reale with its Gardens represents a location of inestimable landscape, historical, monumental and architectural value. We hope that such an event can offer the opportunity for recreation, cultural growth and socialization to all tennis fans and beyond. These are the founding values that we intend to pursue with our new Challenger tournament."

Directing the tournament will be a man of experience like Giorgio Tarantola, a native of Monza, already at the helm of numerous Challengers in Italy and abroad:"I have always had the dream and desire to bring great tennis to my city. To have succeeded is the result of years of commitment and relationships with ATP Tour. We have formed a working team and started immediately with great enthusiasm; we aim to build a great event by setting up long-term work, laying the foundation to stay years and years on the ATP circuit. Top-level players will arrive in Monza, plus many stars of the future such as the Next Gen talents."

"The move to the 125 category after just one edition," explains Giorgio Tarantola, director of the Atkinsons Monza Open 26, "is a great success. The excellent work we did last year has allowed us to accelerate our progress, moving up into a category that includes only about thirty tournaments worldwide. In the same week as us, there will also be another tournament in Mexico City, and we are confident that the upgrade we received will allow us to further improve the average level of participants, also thanks to the 125 points up for grabs. To give you an idea of ​​the value of our tournament, a title in Monza will have more weight in the rankings than a semifinal in an ATP 250, the quarterfinals in an ATP 500, or the round of 16 in a Masters 1000. We expect another tremendous response from the city and the fans, who packed the stands from morning till night in the first edition, ensuring a spectacular setting."

Concludes Duvier Medina, chairman of the organizing committee and technical director of Villa Reale Tennis: "Having such an event on our courts fills us with pride. Organizing an international tournament was in our plans, but a Challenger of this importance is almost a dream and also a responsibility. Now it is time for us to work hard to realize everything perfectly: we will do our utmost to guarantee Monza a role in the elite of Italian tennis and beyond."

Alongside tennis, various initiatives will be organized to promote the sport and the local area. The most notable will be the redesigned hospitality village, which has been revamped both organizationally and visually. It will no longer be located solely within the club, but also in the Boschetti Reali, the public park that extends from the center of Monza to the gates of Villa Reale Tennis. It will become a true Fan Village, offering a tour of the champions' clay courts, complete with street food and entertainment, pickleball courts, music, and much more, perfect for immersing spectators in the atmosphere of the Royal Tennis Show.