Prestigious world-class ATP 250 tennis tournament returns to Israel after 26 years
In great news for Israel’s sports and tennis fans, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced its new tournament in the ATP 250 category: The Tel Aviv Watergen Open 2022 will take place in Israel this fall, more than 26 years after the country hosted a major tennis competition.
Israeli tennis player Yshai Oliel in a match with the British tennis player Jack Draper, during the final of a tennis tournament Kiryat Shmona in 2019
The top-tier tour for men is organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals. ATP 250 tournaments consist of 28 or 32 players, with 20 or 24 spots accepting ranked players. The Tel Aviv Watergen Open 2022 will feature the world’s top-20 ranked players who will compete in the daily tournament at the Expo Tel Aviv Complex starting September 25.
Both singles and doubles finals will be held on October 2, with players vying for nearly $1,200,000 in prize money.
The tournament is coming to Israel thanks to a joint effort by the Israel Tennis Association and Watergen, the competition’s official sponsor. Watergen president Dr Michael Mirilashvili expressed his excitement for the tournament.
“We have been working on this for a long time and we are thrilled that our efforts to host a tennis tournament of this magnitude have paid off. I’m sure that sports and tennis enthusiasts in Israel will enjoy an extraordinary experience. This is truly wonderful news,” Mirilashvili said.
The Israel Tennis Association stated that “this is a perfect opportunity for all tennis lovers in Israel to watch top-class tennis players up close while enjoying a tremendous tennis experience. We thank Watergen for its commitment to the sport, and especially to Dr Michael Mirilashvili, who for years has contributed to the cause of promoting tennis in Israel.”
The Tel Aviv tournament was played from 1978 through 1981 and 1983 through 1996. Israeli tennis player Amos Mansdorf appeared in the final five times, winning in 1987, making him the only Israeli to win the event. Jimmy Connors won his final career singles title at the event in 1989. The tournament still holds the ATP record for the youngest winner of an ATP event, Aaron Krickstein in 1983, at the age of 16 and 2 months.
This news comes after it was recently announced that the French Super cup will be hosted by Israel.
French soccer’s championship trophy between the country’s league and cup winners will be contested by Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and FC Nantes on July 31 at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium.
Last August, French champions Lille defeated trophy holders Paris Saint-Germain in front of 30,000 fans at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. The match will be broadcast to millions of viewers in 140 countries around the world.
The game is being held in partnership with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and is part of a series of joint initiatives by philanthropist and businessman Sylvan Adams and Comtec group to bring the world’s largest sports and leisure events to Israel.
TPS
