Tirante triumphs in Szczecin, while Wawrinka rolls back the years in Rennes

On a cool, damp Sunday in Szczecin, Argentina’s Thiago Tirante rose above the conditions to deliver his best tennis of the week. The 24-year-old defeated Spain’s Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the 32nd Invest In Szczecin Open, securing one of the biggest titles of his career and sealing his return to the Top 100. Born in La Plata, Tirante had previously peaked at No. 90 in the world. Thanks to his run at the clay-court event in northern Poland he will climb back to world No. 94, celebrating his sixth ATP Challenger career crown and first on European soil.

Llamas Ruiz, 22, is regarded as one of Spain’s brightest prospects. A technically sound baseliner, he captured his first Challenger title in Segovia in 2023 and reached the Estoril quarterfinals on the ATP Tour in 2024. In August he qualified for the US Open before falling in the opening round to Pablo Carreño Busta.

Both finalists came through tough draws. Llamas Ruiz beat Thiago Monteiro, Dimitar Kuzmanov, Vit Kopriva and Facundo Díaz Acosta, dropping sets in his last two matches. Tirante saw off Aleksey Vatutin, Jozef Kovalík, Vitaliy Sachko and Geoffrey Blancaneaux, also conceding sets to the Slovak and the Frenchman.

The championship match itself was far more one-sided. Although Tirante had to save a break point in the opening game, he quickly took control as the Spaniard grew impatient, committed errors and showed his frustration. The Argentinian broke in the eighth game and sealed the opening set. In the second set he was even more dominant, breaking serve in the third and seventh games and converting his first match point after one hour and 22 minutes.

“I played at a high level from the first to the last point,” Tirante said. “It hasn’t been easy. I’ve worked hard between tournaments, improving day by day, and today - in the most important moment -I showed my best tennis of the week.”

With the title in Szczecin, he collected €25,740 in prize money and 125 ATP Ranking points. “This is one of the biggest titles of my career, my first in Europe. I’m very happy to win it here in Szczecin,” he added.

Gaston Wins at Home in Rennes

The 19th edition of the Open Blot Rennes ended in style on Sunday with a sold-out Le Liberté Arena witnessing a high-quality ATP Challenger 100 final. Top seed Hugo Gaston held firm in front of his home crowd to defeat former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4. The 24-year-old Frenchman displayed poise and consistency, adding another notable win over the Swiss veteran after their memorable clash at Roland-Garros 2020. En route to the title Gaston beat Christoph Negritu, Enzo Couacaud, Eliakim Coulibaly and Clément Chidekh before overcoming Wawrinka to become the 19th winner of the tournament.

“It’s always a pleasure to play here. The atmosphere is incredible, the entrance gives you goosebumps - everything about the tournament is perfect,” Gaston said at the trophy ceremony. By lifting his fifth ATP Challenger Tour trophy he earned €20,630 in prize money and 100 ATP Ranking points.

"I congratulate Stan on his week and his amazing career — playing at 40 is huge. Thanks also to my team. We’re starting our collaboration with Tristan Lamasine with a title, which makes me very happy. And a big thank you to the crowd — playing in a full arena is fantastic."

Making his first appearance in Rennes, Wawrinka was equally appreciative despite the defeat:

“I congratulate Hugo and his team. He had a great week and deserved the title. For me it was my first time here and, despite the loss, it was a very positive week. The emotions were exceptional thanks to the people here and the tournament. Everything off court is perfect for us players, the atmosphere is outstanding.

I'm happy I decided to come. I’m trying to enjoy my career as much as possible — unfortunately I’m getting older, 40 isn’t ideal — but it’s still such a thrill to be on court thanks to the public, the emotions and the support they give me. That’s one of the reasons I keep fighting. Thank you all.

Read more: Stan Wawrinka turns 40 and ends Coric’s ATP Challenger streak

Gigante and Trungelliti Lift More Clay-Court Trophies

Two other players triumphed on European clay. In Biella, local favourite Matteo Gigante delighted home fans. The 30-year-old Italian, competing with a wildcard, beat Switzerland’s Kilian Feldbausch 7-5, 6-3 in the ATP Challenger 50 final after nearly two hours of play.

Meanwhile in Târgu Mureș, Romania, Marco Trungelliti added another trophy. The top-seeded Argentinian led 6–1 in the first set of the Intaro Open final when Croatia’s Mili Poljicak retired with a muscle injury. It was Trungelliti’s third Challenger title of the season after victories in Tulln, Austria and Lyon, France.

Read more: Marco Trungelliti: An unconventional success story

Cerundolo Breaks Through on Hard Courts

There was also a first-time winner on hard courts in China. Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who had never reached a pro circuit semifinal on the surface before this week, claimed the Guangzhou Huangpu International Tennis Open title. The second seed from Buenos Aires beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo convincingly 6-2, 6-3 in the final, breaking serve four times and winning 59 percent of the total points.

“It’s my first title on hard courts. I’m very happy and hope I can keep improving, especially on this surface. The atmosphere was really nice, the people support you a lot,” Cerundolo said.

“It’s my first time in China. I had never been here before and needed some time to adapt because of the time difference. The city is very nice, and the tournament welcomed me well. I felt very happy here.”

With his 11th Challenger Tour triumph, he earned $22,730 in prize money and 100 ATP Ranking points.

Pinnington Jones Prevails in Winston-Salem

To cap off the weekend, Britain’s Jack Pinnington Jones lifted his second Challenger trophy at the Winston-Salem Challenger. The 22-year-old beat US-American Trevor Svajda 6–2, 6–2, saving all four break points and breaking serve repeatedly to wrap up the match in one hour and 36 minutes. Alongside the $100,000 prize fund of the hard-court event in North Carolina, he pocketed $14,200 and 75 ATP Ranking points.

Challenger Tour Continues in Europe and the Americas

🇦🇹 The ATP Challenger Tour is now moving on to a busy week. In Austria, the LAYJET Open presented by Kronen Zeitung stages its third edition on clay, featuring Spain’s Pedro Martinez, Czech Vit Kopriva, Roberto Carballés Baena and Szczecin champion Tiranteamong the favourites. “Our main goal is to make the tournament a little better every year,” said tournament director Sascha Freitag.

🇫🇷 🇷🇴 In southern France the Saint-Tropez Open returns for a fifth edition on hard courts, headed by Spain’s Martin Landaluce with Matteo Gigante, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Ugo Blanchet among the top seeds. In Romania the Intaro Open enters its second week with Britain’s Jay Clarke at the top of the draw, joined by Daniel Rincon, Dimitar Kuzmanov and Mathys Erhard.

🇦🇷 In South America the clay swing begins in Argentina at the AAT Challenger Santander Edición Villa Maria, where Emilio Nava is the top seed ahead of Hugo Dellien, Francesco Maestrelli and Federico Agustin Gomez.

🇺🇲 And on indoor hard courts the action shifts to the United States. At the Ty Tucker Tennis Center, home of the Ohio State University tennis team, some of the world’s best players will battle for valuable ATP Ranking points and a total prize purse of $100,000 at the fifth edition of the Columbus Challenger, with Juan Pablo Ficovich, Murphy Cassone, Japan’s James Trotter and Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia among the title contenders.