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The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. It was founded in 1976^[1] as a replacement for the ILTF Satellite Circuit (founded in 1971)^[2] as the second tier of tennis.

The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP Tour and ahead of the ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Players who succeed on the ATP Challenger Tour earn sufficient ranking points to enter the main or qualifying draws at ATP Tour tournaments. Players on the Challenger Tour are typically young players looking to advance their careers, those who fail to qualify for ATP events, or former ATP Tour players looking to return to the top tour.

History of challenger events

The first challenger events were held in 1978, with eighteen events taking place. Two were held on the week beginning January 8, one in Auckland and another in Hobart. The next events were held one at a time beginning June 18 and ending August 18 in the following U.S. locations, in order: Shreveport, Birmingham, Asheville, Raleigh, Hilton Head, Virginia Beach, Wall, Cape Cod, and Lancaster. Events continued after a one-month hiatus with two begun September 24 and 25, one in Tinton Falls, New Jersey and in Lincoln, Nebraska respectively. The following week saw one event played, in Salt Lake City, then two played simultaneously in Tel Aviv and San Ramon, California, then one played the following week in Pasadena. A final event was played a month later in Kyoto. In comparison, the 2008 schedule saw 178 events played in more than 40 countries.

Partnerships with ITA and ITF

In efforts to further the progression of college and junior players into the professional tour, the ATP Challenger Tour has partnered with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to give players more opportunities on the professional tour. Those that finish in the top 10 of the end-of-year college rankings are now eligible for six wild cards into the main draw of Challenger events, and if they have finished their college education, they receive 8 of those wild cards. Those that finish in the 11 through 20 range of the collegiate rankings are eligible for six qualifying wild cards, with those who have completed their college education being eligible for eight wild cards.^[3]

Much like the partnership with the ITA, the Challenger Tour also partnered with the ITF. This partnership granted those with year-end rankings inside the top 10 in the world eligible for eight main draw Challenger Tour wildcards, and those who finished the year between 11 and 20 in the world receiving eight Challenger Tour qualifying wildcards.^[4]

Prize money and ranking points

In 2022, during the most numerous season in the tour's history,^[5] the ATP Tour announced an overhaul of the tournaments system from 2023 season. Challenger 110 and Challenger 90 events were scrapped, Challenger 80 reduced to the Challenger 75 while the prize money requirements for it and Challenger 100 were increased. It also introduced the new highest category − Challenger 175 to be inaugurally held in the second week of Indian Wells, Rome and Madrid ATP Tour Masters 1000 events.^[6]

The new points system is as follows:

Tournament category	Singles										Doubles
Tournament category	W	F	SF	QF	R16	R32	R48	Q	Q2	Q3	W	F	SF	QF	R16
Challenger 175	175	100	60	32	15	0	0	6	2	0	TBP
Challenger 125	125	64	35	16	8	0	0	5	2	0	125	75	45	25	0
Challenger 100	100	50	25	14	7	0	0	5	2	0	100	60	36	20	0
Challenger 75	75	44	22	12	6	0	0	4	2	0	75	50	30	16	0
Challenger 50	50	25	14	8	4	0	0	3	1	0	50	30	17	9	0

Player quality

Players have usually had success at the Futures tournaments of the ITF Men's Circuit before competing in Challengers. Due to the lower level of points and money available at the Challenger level, most players in a Challenger have a world ranking of 100 to 500 for a $35K tournament and 50 to 250 for a $150K tournament. An exception happens during the second week of a Grand Slam tournament, when top-100 players who have already lost in the Slam try to take a wild card entry into a Challenger tournament beginning that second week.

Tretorn Serie+

In February 2007, Tretorn became the official ball of the Challenger Series, and the sponsor of a new series consisting of those Challenger tournaments with prize money of $100,000 or more. They renewed the sponsorship with the ATP in 2010 and extended it until the end of 2011.

Records

Most singles titles

Position	Player	Title
1	Lu Yen-hsun	29
2	Dudi Sela	23
3	Paolo Lorenzi	21
4	Carlos Berlocq	19
5	Go Soeda	18
6	Maximo Gonzalez	17
	Blaz Kavcic
	Facundo Bagnis
8	Takao Suzuki	16
	Aljaz Bedene

Most matches won

Updated as of 10 May 2024^[update]

#	Matches won	Years
423	Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo	2000–2017
421	Paolo Lorenzi	2003–2021
409	Go Soeda	2004–2022
369	Lu Yen-hsun	2002–2018
363	Facundo Bagnis	2009–2024
350	Carlos Berlocq	2002–2019
328	Filippo Volandri	1999–2016
325	Blaž Kavčič	2007–2022
323	Rogério Dutra Silva	2006–2019
321	Dudi Sela	2003–2022
306	Horacio Zeballos	2006–2017
minimum 300 wins

Oldest champions

Player	Age	Title
Ivo Karlović	39 years, 7 months	Calgary 2018
Fernando Verdasco	38 years, 3 months	Monterrey 2022
Richard Gasquet	38 years, 2 months	Cassis 2024
Dick Norman	38 years, 1 month	Mexico City 2009
Stéphane Robert	37 years, 8 months	Burnie 2018
Fabio Fognini	37 years, 6 months	Montemar 2024
Bob Carmichael	37 years, 6 months	Hobart 1978
Stéphane Robert	37 years, 5 months	Kobe 2017
Tommy Robredo	37 years, 1 month	Parma 2019
Tommy Robredo	37 years, 1 month	Poznań 2019

Youngest champions

Player	Age	Title
Michael Chang	15 years, 7 months	Las Vegas 1987
Richard Gasquet	16 years	Montauban 2002
Bernard Tomic	16 years, 4 months	Melbourne 2009
Kent Carlsson	16 years, 7 months	New Ulm 1984
Marcos Ondruska	16 years, 7 months	Durban 1989
Richard Gasquet	16 years, 8 months	Sarajevo 2003
Rafael Nadal	16 years, 9 months	Barletta 2003
Richard Gasquet	16 years, 10 months	Napoli 2003
Félix Auger-Aliassime	16 years, 10 months	Lyon 2017

Youngest to win multiple titles

Player	Age	Title
Richard Gasquet	16 years, 8 months	Sarajevo 2003
Félix Auger-Aliassime	17 years, 1 month	Sevilla 2017
Rafael Nadal	17 years, 1 month	Segovia 2003
Bernard Tomic	17 years, 3 months	Burnie 2010
Carlos Alcaraz	17 years, 5 months	Barcelona 2020
Novak Djokovic	17 years, 5 months	Aachen 2004
Juan Martin del Potro	17 years, 6 months	Aguascalientes 2006

Youngest to win three titles

Richard Gasquet	16 years, 10 months	Napoli 2003
Carlos Alcaraz	17 years, 5 months	Alicente 2020
Félix Auger-Aliassime	17 years, 10 months	Lyon 2018
Juan Martin del Potro	17 years, 10 months	Segovia 2006
Novak Djokovic	17 years, 11 months	San Remo 2005