Tel Aviv Open

The Tel Aviv tennis tournament was first held in 1978 and ran annually through 1981, then paused in 1982 before returning each year from 1983 through 1996.[1] During the 1990 and 1991 editions the event was rebranded the Riklis Classic, though it later reverted to the Tel Aviv Open name.[1] The last pre-revival event was the 1996 Riklis Cup, held in Ramat Hasharon.[2] Over the years, the tournament attracted top international players including Thomas Muster, Jimmy Connors, and Albert Costa.[2]

Over the course of its original run the tournament established itself as a destination for elite talent and produced several historically notable results. Israeli players reached genuine competitive heights during this period: Shlomo Glickstein, Amos Mansdorf, Gilad Bloom, and Shahar Perkiss each reached the ATP's top 63 in the world at the peak of their careers.[3] The tournament's central court held approximately 3,500 spectators.[3]

The most historically significant result of the original tournament era came in 1983, when American Jewish player Aaron Krickstein won the title at 16 years and 2 months of age, becoming the youngest player ever to win an ATP event.[4] Krickstein returned to win the title again in 1984.[1] The record for youngest ATP champion stood unbroken at the time of reporting in 2022.[1] Reflecting on that first victory, Krickstein recalled: "It was very exciting. That first event in Tel Aviv was very special."[1]

Amos Mansdorf reached the Tel Aviv final five times and won the tournament in 1987, making him the only Israeli player to claim the title.[4] Jimmy Connors won the event in 1989 by defeating Israeli player Gilad Bloom in the final.[5] It was Connors's final career singles title.[4]

The original tournament ended after 1996. Its discontinuation has been attributed to waning funding, the global growth in the number of ATP tournaments, and ongoing regional conflict.[4] Israel went without a high-caliber men's professional tennis event for the following two and a half decades.[5]

An attempt to return ATP tennis to Israel in 2014 did not succeed. A tournament planned as the inaugural ATP Negev Israel Open was scheduled for September 15–21 in Ramat Hasharon, carrying a $1 million purse.[6] The ATP canceled the event amid the conflict in Gaza.[6][5] ATP chairman Chris Kermode stated that the organization could not proceed given the regional situation and that the security of players, fans, and organizers was its primary concern.[6] Had it taken place, the 2014 event would have been the first ATP World Tour tournament in Israel since 1996.[6][5]

The Tel Aviv Open returned in 2022 as the ATP 250 Tel Aviv Watergen Open, ending a 26-year gap in top-level men's professional tennis in Israel.[5] It was the 18th edition of the Tel Aviv Championship.[7] The return was made possible by a calendar opening created when the Zhuhai Championships in China was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The event slot had previously been used in St. Petersburg before moving to China, and the Tel Aviv tournament was organized within four months.[3] Entrepreneur Mikhael Mirilashvili, owner of the water-technology company Watergen, was the central initiator and primary funder of the 2022 edition, with the Israel Tennis Association and other partners also involved.[3][5]

The 2022 tournament was held at Expo Tel Aviv, in Pavilions 1 and 2, with four courts and Hawkeye line-calling technology.[7] Infrastructure costs were substantial: Expo Tel Aviv's venue rental was reported at 250,000 shekels per day, with an estimated minimum venue bill of approximately three million shekels plus VAT.[3] Mirilashvili also agreed to fund a proposed covered training facility at Hadar Yosef at an estimated cost of six million shekels, conditional on the ability to use those courts in future years.[3]

The event drew more than 50 athletes and their team members, with a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw.[7][4] Prize money was reported in varying figures. Ynet's tournament preview cited €949,475, while an earlier announcement quoted a Watergen co-CEO as describing the prize value as more than $1 million.[2][7] Sport5 reported a fund of $950,000; the sources do not account for the differences in currency and context.[3] On Rosh Hashanah, spectators were barred from attending matches — a decision attributed to Mirilashvili's religious observance — which left the stands sparsely attended that day and drew public criticism, though crowds returned once the holiday ended.[3]

Novak Djokovic won the 2022 Tel Aviv final on October 2, defeating Marin Čilić 6–3, 6–4 in a match that lasted 94 minutes.[8][9] Djokovic had won 19 of his 21 previous matches against Čilić entering the final and did not drop a set throughout the entire week.[8] The title was his third of the season, following Rome and Wimbledon.[9] It was the 89th title of his career.[8] Djokovic received $144,000 for the victory.[9] He said the week had been special and expressed hope that it would not be his last visit to Israel; he also noted that there had been "a full stadium at every match of mine."[9]

The 2022 tournament also carried personal significance for Israeli doubles player Jonathan Erlich, who had planned it as his farewell event, with Djokovic as his doubles partner.[10] A former doubles pairing, the two had been set to share the court one final time, but Erlich was unable to play due to severe pain. "The pain was so huge that I could barely walk," Erlich said.[10] Erlich had previously won the 2008 Australian Open doubles title with fellow Israeli Andy Ram.[4][10] Argentine player Diego Schwartzman, who has Jewish heritage, made his first visit to Israel for the 2022 tournament and was eliminated in the round of 16 by Arthur Rinderknech.[10]

A second consecutive Tel Aviv Watergen Open was planned for November 5–11, 2023.[11] The dates had previously belonged to the Moscow Kremlin Cup before being reassigned from Russia following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and Mirilashvili agreed to pay a significant sum to secure them for Israel.[11] The 2023 edition would have fallen the week before the ATP Finals in Turin.[11]

The 2023 tournament was canceled before it could be held, with the ATP citing the security situation stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.[12] Organizers said ticket holders would receive refund information from the ticketing company and expressed their intention to bring the tournament back in 2024.[12] The cancellation had precedent: an ATP event and a planned women's event were also canceled in 2014 amid violence emanating from the Gaza Strip.[13]