Ivan Gakhov expected in Kigali in this February
Rwanda will be the first country in the Sub-Saharan Africa region to host the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) Challenger 50 Tour that will bring seeded tennis pro-players to Kigali.
The men’s tennis tour is an international competition organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
According to the ITF calendar, the tour is expected to run in Kigali City from February 26 to March 10, 2024 at the IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis Club.
The ATP Challenger is the second-highest level of men’s professional tennis in the world, which ranks the top 100 best players in the world on the ATP Ranking.
The tournament is set to attract over 60 players in both singles and doubles categories, with participants ranked from seed 150 and upward.
The official list for the main draw, released by the ATP, includes 21 players who will be vying for the prize money and ATP points.
Russian Ivan Gakhov, ranked 172, headlines the list as one of the top seeds to play in the tour.
The 21 will be joined by six qualifiers, three wildcards, and two special exemptions. The official list for the double’s competition will be released next week.
Seeded Players from more than 24 countries expected Kigali.
Talented players to participate and showcase their skills in the tour will come from more than 14 countries such as: France, Israel, Argentina, Romania, Croatia, Australia, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Egypt, Switzerland, Moldova, and Italy among others.
The ATP Challenger 50 Tour in Rwanda is not just a sporting spectacle; but it represents a significant step forward for tennis in Sub-Saharan Africa and especially in Rwanda.
Some of the high-profile players, who are products of ATP Challenger Tour include current World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz (Spain), former World No.1s Roger Federer (Switzerland) Rafael Nadal (Spain), Andy Roddick (US) and former US Open winner, Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina).
