Kigali again braces for yet another two weeks of fascinating tennis fiesta as Rwanda Challenger returns to IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis Club.
Rwanda became just the second African country to host an ATP-sanctioned tournament after South Africa when the country hosted the ATP Challenger Tour 50 from February 26 to March 10, 2024.
The 2024 edition attracted over 60 players from 25 different countries across two weeks.
Polish star Kamil Majchrzak won Week 1—graced by President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame—as Argentine Marco Trungelliti, who lost the final in the first week, roared back to lift Week 2 trophy.
The tournament is now back to the country of the 1000 hills and at a bigger level with world’s elite tennis players now eyeing glory in ATP Challenger 75 in the first week from February 24 to March 1, while the second week will see them battle for glory at ATP Challenger 100 scheduled from March 03-09.
Dutch tennis star Jesper de Jong (109th) has confirmed his participation at the Rwanda Challenger Tour 75 as the top seed while Rwanda Challenger 2 winner Trungelliti returns as the second seed. They will battle for the top prizes alongside world’s top players like Frenchman Calvin Hemery, Carlos Taberner(Spain) and Gonzalo Oliveira (Venezuela).
Other notable entries are Frenchman Benoît Paire, who previously won three singles titles, at the 2015 Swedish Open, the 2019 Marrakesh Open and the 2019 Lyon Open, with a career-high singles ranking as World No.18, as well as Swedish Mikael Ymer (both wild card) who had a career high ATP singles ranking of world No.50, achieved on 17 April 2023.
The full list of participants for ATP Challenger Tour 100 will be announced in the next few days.
All matches will take place at IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis Club.
Minister of Sports, Honourable Nelly MUKAZAYIRE said: “The Rwanda Challenger 2025 reaffirms our growing presence in global tennis landscape. Hosting ATP Challenger 75 & 100 not only brings world-class competition to Kigali but also inspires our young athletes, and strengthens our tennis development ambitions. We look forward to welcoming elite athletes and fans from around the world to experience both the competitive spirit of the tournament and the hospitality of the Rwandan people.”
Rwanda Tennis Federation President, Theoneste Karenzi, said: “We are thrilled to welcome ATP Challenger back to Kigali as we continue to turn into a hub for international tennis hub.”
“I hope bringing more tournaments here continues to contribute to the government’s ambitions to establish Rwanda as a sports events destination. Tournaments like these will hopefully bring a huge impact not only to the development of Rwandan tennis but also raise the level our homegrown players, especially those who land an opportunity to compete alongside world’s top tennis players. We looking forward to hosting the tournament and we promise a successful tournament across the two weeks.”
Partners of Rwanda Challenger 2025 include the Ministry of Sports, Visit Rwanda, Canal Box, Rwanda Tennis Federation, Federation Francaise de Tennis, Ambassade de France au Rwanda, Sodise, TotalEnergies, Ricoh, Inyange Industries.
Arzel Mevellec, tournament director: “We brought ATP Challenger 50 here because wanted to see if the city was ready to organize such a tournament and, from the report we received, the feedback was good. That’s why we promoted the tournament to ATP Challenger 75 and 100.”
“Kigali first took the risk, and we now have the image of Africa. and are hosting another in Abidjan in April. We are hosting tournaments in Brazzaville and Abidjan is hosting another in April. Besides that, another idea is to give young players an opportunity to dream.”
