Joel Schwaerzler's historic title leads to five memorable moments at Challengers 2024 | ATP Tour
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Five memorable moments from Schwartzler's historic title leading up to 2024 Challenge
A record 27 different players with collegiate tennis experience win Challenger titles in a single season
December 14, 2024
Macedonian Open
Joel Schwaerzler became the fourth player to win the Challenge title while maintaining first place in the junior division.
Written by ATP Staff
To mark the end of the 2024 season, ATPTour.com highlights five memorable moments from the ATP Challenger Tour season.
Schwarzler's historic “surprise”
#NextGenATP Joel Schwaerzler set a record at the Macedonia Open, becoming just the fourth player to win the title while retaining the top spot in the junior rankings. Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Wu Yibing also accomplished the feat.
“I was a little surprised,” Schwarzler said. “I knew I could win the game there, but actually winning the game was different.”
The 18-year-old ended the season by winning this year's Roland Garros men's doubles title alongside Norway's Nicolai Budkov Kjaer Ranked 330th in the PIF ATP rankings. Schwartzler is the fourth youngest Austrian champion in ATP Challenger history.
Mejia wins Challenge title to honor late father
Nearly seven years after the death of his father, Mejia celebrated a career milestone in April, winning his first ATP Challenger title in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. After the victory, Mejia pointed to the sky, enthusiastic and excited. “Daddy, daddy,” he shouted.
“Every day, I talk about him, I think about him, I dream about him in my sleep because I'm always thinking about him,” said the No. 219 player in the PIF ATP rankings. “This has been the hardest battle for me, realizing and knowing that he is gone forever. I feel like he is so close to me every day of my life. That is what keeps me going forever. One thing, because the power he gives me is unconditional.
“I think when I lifted the trophy, I also looked to the sky as a sign of relief…I wanted to look at my dad and obviously point the trophy at him.” Read ATPTour.com's feature: Mejia Wins Challenger Champion, in memory of his late father: “The pain never goes away”.
<img alt="Eight-year-old Nicholas Mejia with his father Gustavo. 2024/04/03/18/18 /mejia-gustavo-1-2024.jpg”>
Eight-year-old Nicolas Mejia with his father Gustavo. Image source: Mejia Family
Rwanda's challengers reflect a nation's hope and healing
This year marks the 30th anniversary of 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 plays a small but important role in the recovery process. The ATP Challenger Tour was held in the capital Kigali for two weeks (February 26 to March 10), making Rwanda the seventh African country to host an event of this level.
Rather than trying to erase a dark chapter in history, the event took a different approach: promoting education and honoring the fallen through visits to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. More than 20 players visited the memorial.
“Rwanda Adventure organizes the first major tournament in the region,” said event director Arzel Mevellec. “This is a very important symbol. Rwanda is a small country but there are big things happening now. With football, NBA Academy Africa and now Rwanda on the world map of tennis, I think this is the start of something great. Rwanda can feel good about it. pride.
Rwanda is the seventh African country to host the ATP Challenger Tour. Image source: Rwanda Tennis Federation
Champions come from college teams
The college pathway remains an important stepping stone for many players to achieve success at the ATP Challenger Tour and beyond.
This year, 27 different players with collegiate tennis experience have won titles in a single season, led by four-time champion Jacob Fearnley, who helped TCU capture the 2024 NCAA D1 Men’s Tennis Championship in May Championship, then made rapid progress on the Challenger Tour. The four-time ITA Beauty Player of the Year ended the season ranked No. 99 in the PIF ATP Rankings, a huge improvement from the No. 646 ranking at the beginning of the year.
2023 NCAA singles champion Ethan Quinn won his first Challenger title at Champaign, his final tournament of the year. Tristan Boyer (Stanford), Federico Agustin Gomez (Louisville), Alexander Ritchard (Virginia), Learner Tien (USC) and Valentin Vacherot (Texas A&M) all earned three Challenger titles .
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Vaccello dominates start to season
Vaccello started the season with one of the hottest Contenders matches in recent memory. The 26-year-old has won his first 15 Challenger-level matches this year, winning three titles. This is the longest winning streak since the start of the Challenger season in 2017.
Unfortunately, a shoulder injury put a damper on Vaccello's stellar season, and he didn't play in any tournaments after the U.S. Open. Vaccello has a 21-3 season record (Challenger level) and maintains the second-highest winning rate (87.5%) on this year’s ATP Challenger Tour, second only to Fearnley (27-3) , 90%).
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