Schwaerzler's historic title leads five Challenger moments to remember in 2024
To mark the end of the 2024 season, ATPTour.com highlights five moments to remember from the ATP Challenger Tour season.
Schwaerzler’s historic ‘surprise’
#NextGenATP Joel Schwaerzler entered the record books at the Macedonian Open, where he became just the fourth player to win a title at that level while holding the junior No. 1 ranking. Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Wu Yibing also accomplished the feat.
“I was kind of surprised,” Schwaerzler said. “I knew I could win matches there but to actually win the tournament is something different.”
The 18-year-old, who won this year’s Roland Garros boys’ doubles event alongside Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, finished the season at No. 330 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Schwaerzler is the fourth-youngest Austrian winner in ATP Challenger Tour history.
Mejia wins Challenger title in memory of late father
Nearly seven years on since his father’s passing, Mejia celebrated a career milestone in April, when he won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Following his triumph, Mejia was enthusiastic, yet emotional, as he pointed to the sky. “Papá, papá,” he uttered.
“Every single day that goes by, I mention him, I think about him, I dream about him in my sleep because I think about him the whole time,” said the No. 219 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. “It’s been the toughest battle for me to realise and know that he is physically gone forever. I feel that he’s close to me every single day of my life. That’s one thing that will keep me going forever because that strength he gave me is unconditional.
“I think when I lifted the trophy, I was also looking to the sky as a sign of relief… I wanted to look at my dad, obviously pointing the trophy to him.” Read ATPTour.com’s feature: Mejia wins Challenger title in memory of late father: ‘The pain never goes away’.
<img alt=”Nicolas Mejia at age eight alongside his father Gustavo.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/04/03/18/18/mejia-gustavo-1-2024.jpg” />
Nicolas Mejia at age eight alongside his father Gustavo. Credit: Mejia Family
Rwanda Challenger reflects hope & healing of a nation
This year marked 30 years since the Rwanda genocide, an atrocity that claimed an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 lives. As the central African country continues to recover and rebuild, tennis is playing a small but important part of the healing process. The ATP Challenger Tour spent two weeks (26 February-10 March) in the capital city Kigali, making Rwanda the seventh African country to host an event at that level.
Rather than trying to erase the dark chapter from history, the tournament adopted an alternative approach: promoting education and honouring the fallen through visits to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. More than 20 players visited the memorial.
“Rwanda took a risk to organise the first big tournament in this part of the world,” tournament director Arzel Mevellec said. “It’s a very important symbol. Rwanda is a small country but with big events now. Soccer, NBA Academy Africa, and now Rwanda is on the world map of tennis and I think that’s the beginning of something huge. Rwanda can be proud about that.”
Rwanda is the seventh African country to host an ATP Challenger Tour event. Credit: Rwanda Tennis Federation
Champions hailing from college ranks
The college pathway continues to be a vital stepping stone for many players to find success on the ATP Challenger Tour and beyond.
A single-season record 27 different players with college tennis experience won titles this year, led by four-time winner Jacob Fearnley, who helped TCU capture the 2024 NCAA D1 men’s tennis championship in May before making quick progress on the Challenger Tour. The four-time ITA All-American finished the season at No. 99 in the PIF ATP Rankings, a vast improvement upon his No. 646 ranking at the start of the year.
The 2023 NCAA singles champion Ethan Quinn captured his maiden Challenger title in Champaign, his final tournament of the year. Tristan Boyer (Stanford), Federico Agustin Gomez (Louisville), Alexander Ritschard (Virginia), Learner Tien (USC) and Valentin Vacherot (Texas A&M) all claimed three Challenger titles.
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Vacherot’s dominant start to season
Vacherot started the season on one of the hottest Challenger runs in recent memory. The 26-year-old won his first 15 Challenger-level matches of the year, claiming three titles. It was the longest winning streak to start a Challenger season since 2017. Vacherot was crowned champion in back-to-back weeks in Nonthaburi, Thailand and triumphed a month later in Pune, India.
A shoulder injury unfortunately hindered Vacherot’s standout season in which he did not compete in any tournaments after the US Open. Vacherot tallied a 21-3 season record (Challenger level) and held the second-highest winning percentage on the ATP Challenger Tour this year (87.5 per cent), only behind Fearnley (27-3, 90 per cent).
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