Week in review: Patrick Kypson makes it a hat-trick, teen sensation Justin Engel breaks through

Argentine Román Andrés Burruchaga capped off a sensational week at the inaugural Costa do Sauípe Open with a commanding performance to claim the singles title on Sunday. The 23-year-old, son of 1986 World Cup champion Jorge Burruchaga, defeated Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-1, 6-2 in the final to lift his third ATP Challenger trophy, and second in Brazil this year.

Burruchaga was in unstoppable form throughout the final day of play at the picturesque Bahian resort. Forced to contest both his semifinal and final on Sunday due to rain earlier in the week, the Argentine showed no signs of fatigue. He first swept aside Bolivia’s Juan Prado Ángelo 6-2, 6-2 in the morning, then returned to the court in the afternoon to outclass Vallejo in just over an hour as the sun set over Costa do Sauípe.

Read More: Italian teen Lorenzo Carboni makes his move on the Challenger Tour

Vallejo, 21, reached the final after Chile’s Cristian Garin was forced to retire in their semifinal following the first set. But Burruchaga gave his opponent no openings in the championship match, dictating play from the baseline and converting five of his six break-point chances.

With the victory, Burruchaga earned 175 ATP Ranking points and $28,400 in prize money, propelling him to a career-high ranking of No. 106. It continues a stellar 2025 season for the Argentine, who earlier triumphed at the Challenger 100 in Piracicaba, also in Brazil.

“I’m very happy to win here and to reach my best ranking with this victory,” Burruchaga said after the match. “I didn’t know Bahia before, but it’s been an amazing experience playing in Costa do Sauípe.”

Following his triumph, Burruchaga celebrated the victory in fitting Brazilian style—with a plunge into the ocean just steps from the tournament venue.

The Costa do Sauípe Open, part of the ATP Challenger 125 series, made a strong debut this year and has already been confirmed through 2027. Tournament director Danilo Marcelino expressed his satisfaction with the event’s success: “The tournament is guaranteed until 2027, but we want to grow beyond that and keep writing a new chapter here in Costa do Sauípe. The feedback from players has been fantastic—everyone fell in love with this place.”

Gaston triumphs on home soil again

Meanwhile in France, Hugo Gaston was crowned champion of the 10th edition of the Brest Open Groupe Vert, defeating Eliot Spizzirri from the United States 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 in Sunday’s final.

Having already lifted the trophy in Rennes in September, Gaston captured his second ATP Challenger Tour title on home soil this season with another strong run in Brest.

The Toulouse native, who received a wild card from the organizers, battled past fellow Frenchman Calvin Hemery, Francesco Maestrelli of Italy, and Arthur Fery of France, before outlasting Alexis Galarneau from Canada in a tight semifinal.

In the final, Gaston found himself quickly trailing against Spizzirri but managed to turn things around, spurred on by 2,500 enthusiastic fans inside the Brest Arena. After dropping the opening set, he raised his level to claim the next two and secure victory in one hour and 37 minutes.

“It was a very tough match. I was under pressure the whole time. I tried to hang in there at the start of the second set, and little by little I managed to play my game against a very good opponent. I stayed focused from start to finish," said Gaston after his sixth triumph on the ATP Challenger Tour.

"I’m super happy to have won this tournament. I had some doubts, but I didn’t give up. I knew I could raise my level, and I thought maybe he wouldn’t be able to keep up—and that’s what happened.

"Brittany seems to suit me—maybe it’s the crepes at night, I don’t know (laughs). I feel great here. Playing in a venue like this, with such a crowd, is fantastic. The tournament is really well organized, everything is top-notch for us players. Everyone takes such good care of us, and I try to give something back on the court.”

The 25-year-old pocketed €20,630 (approx. $24,000) in prize money as well as 100 ATP Ranking points.

Engel earns maiden Challenger title in Hamburg

German teen sensation Justin Engel emerged victorious at the 2025 Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup, lifting his first trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 18-year-old Nuremberg native emerged victorious from the all-teen singles final, defeating Italian Federico Cina 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Sunday afternoon.

While it was stormy and raining outside, the atmosphere inside the Hamburg Tennis Association’s indoor arena was electric. About 500 spectators attended the pair’s first-ever meeting, in which Engel stayed composed during the decisive moments. The world No. 235 converted two of his five break-point opportunities and claimed his seventh consecutive tiebreak of the week. After one hour and 29 minutes of play, Engel sealed the victory on his first match point.

“It was just incredible,” said Engel during the on-court ceremony. “Thanks to the fans—you were absolutely amazing.” After his match win at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum against Jan-Lennard Struff earlier this year—Engel’s first at ATP 500 level—he added a small declaration of love for the city: “By now, Hamburg has become my favorite city.”

Following five title wins on the ITF World Tennis Tour, this was Engel’s first triumph at Challenger level. The Bavarian pocketed €7,530 (approx. $8,700) in prize money and 50 ATP ranking points, reaching a new career-high of World No. 188 on Monday.

Kypson clinches title in Sioux Falls

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the second edition of the MarketBeat Open delivered one of the most thrilling finals of the ATP Challenger Tour season, as No. 5 seed Patrick Kypson battled back to defeat Great Britain’s Johannus Monday 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-5.

The hard-fought championship match lasted two hours and 34 minutes and featured just one service break, coming at the most crucial moment. Monday, who hadn’t double-faulted all match, did so for the first time in the 11th game of the final set, handing Kypson the decisive break. It was also the only break point the 23-year-old left-hander faced all afternoon.

The opening set, which took 44 minutes, saw both players hold serve comfortably without facing a single break point or deuce game. Monday edged ahead 2-0 in the tiebreak and never relinquished control, winning it 7-2.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with neither player giving up ground. Kypson faced two break points in the 11th game but saved both to stay alive. After Monday held, a second tie-break ensued. This time, Kypson earned an early mini-break at 2-0 and maintained the lead, closing it out 7-4 to level the match.

In the deciding set, Kypson fought off four break points in a tense fourth game—the longest of the match at 18 points. From there, both players held serve until the 11th game, when Monday finally cracked under pressure.

🖥️📲 Relive the action from the MarketBeatOpen on Tennis Channel!

"That was the key and whoever was going to break serve was probably going to come out on top and I was fortunate to hold tough when I was facing break points," said Kypson, who saved all six break points in the match. "I was fortunate enough to snag the only break point I had late in the match."

A former All-American at Texas A&M, Kypson had fallen to No. 455 in April after being sidelined for three months with a stress fracture in his left foot. Following surgery on January 24, he returned to competition in Savannah on April 21. With his victory in Sioux Falls, his ranking will climb from No. 166 to No. 146. Kypson collected $22,730 in prize money as well as 100 ATP Ranking points.

Since returning, Kypson has claimed Challenger titles on clay, outdoor hard, and indoor hard courts—becoming just the third US-American since 1978 to win titles on all three surfaces in a single season, joining Robby Ginepri (2002) and Michael Russell (2009).

"I think the margins were so thin today and you could only chalk it up to continuing to do what you were doing throughout the match," Kypson said. "At the end of the day luck plays a little bit of a role and I stuck what I was doing and ultimately I was able to save those break points and come out on top."

We have a pretty strong group of guys right now and we are all trying to push each other to get into the Top 100. It's pretty impressive to win 20 (Challenger) titles in a season. Patrick Kypson

Kypson’s win marked a milestone for American tennis—the 20th ATP Challenger title won by a U.S. player this season, breaking the previous record of 19 set in 2006.

"We have a lot of guys ranked between the Top 100 and 200, young guys, a couple of veterans in there," said Kypson, who turns 26 on Tuesday. "We have a pretty strong group of guys right now and we are all trying to push each other to get into the Top 100. It's pretty impressive to win 20 titles in a season."

Kypson is also now the leader in the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge Standings after week two with three weeks to go.

Nishioka notches Suzhou Challenger title

In Asia, Yoshihito Nishioka captured the title of the inaugural Suzhou Challenger. The top seed of Japan defeated fifth-seeded Frenchman Harold Mayot 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

Nishioka converted three of his eight break-point chances to prevail after one hour and 18 minutes.

The 30-year-old lifted his seventh ATP Challenger Tour career trophy, his first since 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. Nishioka earned $14,200 in prize money as well as 75 ATP Ranking points.

Further action all around the world

The indoor swing in Europe will continue this week with the prestigious Slovak Open. Raphael Collignon of Belgium and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo are the top two seeds in Bratislava. Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka was awarded a wild card into the main draw of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 hard-court event.

The 40-year-old from Lausanne recently played at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai and reached the round of 16 at the ATP 500 in Basel, where he narrowly lost to fourth seed Casper Ruud.

🖥️📲 **Tune into the Slovak Open this week on Tennis Channel!**

Tournament director Igor Moška said there was no hesitation in granting Wawrinka a wild card: “I’m very happy that we can once again welcome such a great champion like Stan Wawrinka to Bratislava. He will definitely be a big attraction for the fans, and his participation will make the field even more exciting, which is already very strong this year. I believe the spectators will create another fantastic atmosphere for him and come out in great numbers to the stands of the Peugeot Arena at the National Tennis Centre.”

More continents will host ATP Challenger Tour events this week. In Asia, the ninth edition of the EUGENE Seoul Open is underway. Australia’s James Duckworth is the No. 1 seed, vying for 100 ATP Ranking points. In North America, Rinky Hijikata of Australia is the top-ranked player to compete in the Jonathan Fried Men's Pro Challenger in Charlottesville and the South American clay-court swing continues in Peru with the inaugural Los Inkas Open in Lima led by Argentina’s Mariano Navone, replacing the Guayaquil Challenger originally scheduled for this week. The tournament in Ecuador was announced to take place the week of November 17. Finally, the Challenger Circuit returns to Africa for the first edition of the Monastir Open. Croatian youngster Luka Mikrut is the top seed at the ATP Challenger Tour 50 hard-court event in Tunisia.