The ATP has announced the 2017 ATP Challenger Tournaments of the Year, with players voting two of their favourite Challenger Tour stops in Germany (Braunschweig and Heilbronn) and one in Canada (Vancouver) from the 155 tournaments in 41 countries staged last year. The Challenger Tournament of the Year awards recognise excellence in standards set across the global Challenger Tour. Braunschweig’s 24-year-old Sparkassen OPEN has won the award every year since 2014 and has long been a player favourite. The NECKARCUP, staged in Heilbronn, Germany, for the last four years, and Vancouver’s Odlum Brown VanOpen, relaunched in 2017, have also been rewarded with the player vote after ambitious improvements each year. ATP Challenger Tour Committee Co-Chairs, Alison Lee, ATP International Executive...
After a one-year hiatus, the ATP Challenger Tour is back in western Canada for the 12th edition of the Odlum Brown VanOpen. Under the helm of new tournament director and 2006 champion Rik de Voest, they picked up right where they left off. The bustling Canadian metropolis of Vancouver has welcomed world-class tennis for more than a decade and the players have taken notice. Seven of the eight seeds featured in this week's draw are in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with World No. 79 Jordan Thompson and a resurgent Cedrik-Marcel Stebe slated to square off for the title on Sunday. "It's been great," said Thompson, who is into his second ATP Challenger Tour final in less...
A longtime staple of the ATP Challenger Tour has returned to the circuit after a one-year hiatus. With former player and 37-time Challenger doubles winner Rik de Voest at the helm, the Odlum Brown VanOpen is back at the prestigious Hollyburn Country Club. Nestled on the southern edge of the Coast Mountains in southwestern Canada, with Vancouver Harbour adorning the horizon, the multi-million dollar sports club is a symbol of opulence and for many players on the ATP Challenger Tour it has been a home away from home. The state-of-the-art facility, featuring 25 tennis courts – hard, clay and grass – is rivaled only by the world-class hospitality of its staff. For 11 years, the Odlum Brown VanOpen was brought...