World Tennis Challenge

Last updated

World Tennis Challenge
World Tennis Challenge Logo.jpg
Tournament information
Founded2009
Abolished2019
Location Adelaide
Australia
Venue Memorial Drive Park (2009–2019)
CategoryExhibition
Surface Hard court
DrawRR 4 teams
Website WorldTennisChallenge.com

The World Tennis Challenge was a three night professional exhibition tennis tournament held in the week before the Australian Open in Adelaide, South Australia as part of the Australian Open Series. The tournament was created by a consortium of past players including Jim Courier, Darren Cahill, Mark Woodforde and Roger Rasheed And Alistair (Macdonald)It had four teams of two players, a 'legend' and a current player and are paired into areas e.g. Americas or represent their countries. The current players play each other in a best of 3 match with a match tiebreaker for a 3rd set. The legends play a pro set, and the doubles if needed is a normal set with no a rules before a super tie break if needed. [1]

Contents

The event was first held in 2009 for an initial period of 3 years. [2] 2

2009

Players and teams

TeamPro PlayerLegend
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Mark Philippoussis/Mark Verryth Pat Cash
Flag of France.svg  France Gaël Monfils/Fabrice Santoro Henri Leconte
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Joachim Johansson Mats Wilander/Mansour Bahrami
Flag of the United States.svg  United States Taylor Dent Jim Courier

[3] [4]

2010

Played between 12 and 14 January.

Players and teams

TeamPro PlayerLegend
Flag of Australia (1903-1908).svg  Australasia Bernard Tomic Pat Cash
Flag of Europe.svg Europe Gilles Simon Henri Leconte
Flag of the United Nations.svg Internationals Radek Štěpánek Pat Rafter/Mansour Bahrami
Flag of the United States.svg Americas Robby Ginepri John McEnroe

Schedule

Tuesday Night: Australia v Americas and International v Europe

Wednesday Night: Australia v International and Europe v Americas

Thursday Night: Australia v Europe and International v Americas [5]

Results

Results - Tuesday 12 Jan

Men's Singles (Current)

Stepanek def. Simon 7-6 (4), 6-0
Tomic def. Ginepri 7-6 (4) 6-4

Men's Singles (Legends)

Leconte def. Bahrami 8-5
Cash def. McEnroe 8-6

Men's doubles

Stepanek/Bahrami (International) def. Simon/Leconte (Europe) 7-5
Ginepri & McEnroe (Americas) def. Tomic & Cash (Australia) 6-7 (5)

Results – Thursday 14 January

CURRENT PLAYERS
Bernard Tomic (291) def. Gilles Simon (15) 6-0, 6-7 (4-7), (10-6)
Radek Štěpánek (13) def. Robby Ginepri (96) 6-4, 6-0

PAST PLAYERS
Pat Rafter def. John McEnroe 8-6
Pat Cash def. Henri Leconte 8-4

DOUBLES
Tomic/Cash def. Simon/ Leconte 7-6 (7-5)
McEnroe/Ginepri def. Stepanek/Rafter 6-3

[6] [7]

2011

Played between 11 and 13 January.

Players and teams

TeamPro PlayerLegend
Flag of Australia (1903-1908).svg  Australasia Kei Nishikori Pat Cash
Flag of Europe.svg Europe Michaël Llodra Henri Leconte
Flag of the United Nations.svg Internationals Ivan Ljubičić Ivan Lendl
Flag of the United States.svg Americas James Blake (replaced by Ryan Harrison) [8] John McEnroe

[4] 11 Jan Australasia v Americas Internationals v Europe 12 Jan Australasia v Internationals Americas v Europe 13 Jan Australasia v Europe Americas v Internationals [9]

2012

Played between 10 and 12 January.

Players and teams

TeamPro PlayerLegend
Flag of Australia (1903-1908).svg  Australasia Alexandr Dolgopolov Patrick Rafter
Flag of Europe.svg Europe Michaël Llodra Henri Leconte
Flag of the United Nations.svg Internationals Stanislas Wawrinka Brad Gilbert/Mansour Bahrami
Flag of the United States.svg Americas Tommy Haas John McEnroe

2017

The 2017 World Tennis Challenge ran from the 10th until the 12th of January 2017 as part of the Australian Open Series. The team names (Red, Blue and Gold) are based on the state colours of South Australia. [10]

Players and teams

TeamMen's DoublesMen's SinglesLegend's Singles
Team Red Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bryan / Flag of the United States.svg Mike Bryan Flag of the United States.svg Sam Querrey Flag of France.svg Fabrice Santoro
Team Blue Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Daniel Nestor / Flag of France.svg Edouard Roger-Vasselin Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomas Berdych Flag of Croatia.svg Goran Ivanisevic
Team Gold Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Peers / Flag of Finland.svg Henri Kontinen Flag of Ukraine.svg Alexandr Dolgopolov Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Philippoussis

Champions

YearTeam
2009 Flag of the United States.svg Americas
2010Flag of Australia (1903-1908).svg  Australasia
2011 Flag of the United States.svg Americas
2012 Flag of the United States.svg Americas

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Rafter</span> Australian tennis player

Patrick Michael Rafter is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He reached the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking on 26 July 1999. His career highlights include consecutive US Open titles in 1997 and 1998, consecutive runner-up appearances at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001, winning the 1999 Australian Open men's doubles tournament alongside Jonas Björkman, and winning two singles and two doubles ATP Masters titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McEnroe</span> American tennis player

John Patrick McEnroe Jr. is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court behavior, which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Cash</span> Australian tennis player

Patrick Hart Cash is an Australian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upon winning the 1987 singles title at Wimbledon, Cash climbed into the stands to celebrate, starting a tradition that has continued ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri Leconte</span> French tennis player

Henri Leconte is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was world No. 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince Spadea</span> American tennis player

Vincent Spadea is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

Mikael Pernfors is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1986, and won the 1993 Canadian Open in Montreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radek Štěpánek</span> Czech tennis player

Radek Štěpánek is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 event finals and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2006, as well as winning the deciding match for Czech Republic's Davis Cup winning team in 2012 and again in 2013. In doubles, he won his first Grand Slam title at the 2012 Australian Open, along with Indian partner Leander Paes, defeating the Bryan Brothers in the final. Paes and Štěpánek also won the men's doubles title at the 2013 US Open, defeating Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya in the final. In November 2017, he became a coach of Novak Djokovic and in May 2019, he joined Andre Agassi as part of Grigor Dimitrov's coaching staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Guccione (tennis)</span> Australian tennis player

Christopher Luke Guccione is an inactive Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria. He has won five ATP Tour doubles titles, and reached career-high rankings of singles world No. 67 in April 2008 and doubles world No. 38 in November 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Goldstein (tennis)</span> American tennis player

Paul Herbert Goldstein is a retired tennis player from the United States, who turned professional in 1998. He announced his retirement from professional tennis in February 2008, as he was starting working with a clean energy company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Tomic</span> Australian tennis player

Bernard Tomic is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two junior Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Australian Open and 2009 US Open. As a pro, he has won the 2013 Apia International Sydney, 2014 Claro Open Colombia, 2015 Claro Open Colombia and the 2018 Chengdu Open. He made a final appearance at the 2016 Acapulco Telcel and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, as well as at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open, the 2015 Shanghai Masters, and the 2016 Western & Southern Open.

The ATP Champions Tour is a men's tennis tour intended for former tennis professionals, who have since retired from mainstream professional tennis touring. The Tour brings together many of the greatest tennis players in history for nostalgic, competitive and entertaining tournaments in cities around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Hájek (tennis)</span> Czech tennis player

Jan Hájek is a retired male professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He reached the third round of the 2007 French Open and attained a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 71 in November 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Brisbane International</span> Tennis tournament

The 2009 Brisbane International was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Brisbane, Queensland. It was the first edition of the event known as the Brisbane International and resulted from the merger of the Next Generation Adelaide International on the men's tour with the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts on the women's tour. The 2009 Brisbane International was a World Tour 250 series event on the ATP Tour and an International series event on the WTA Tour. Both the men's and women's events took place at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson from 4 January through 11 January 2009.

The 2010 Brisbane International was a joint ATP and WTA tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Brisbane, Queensland. It was the 2nd edition of the tournament and was played at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson. The centre court, Pat Rafter Arena is named in honour of Australian tennis hero Patrick Rafter. It took place from 3 to 10 January 2010. It was part of the Australian Open Series in preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year. Justine Henin has announced that she will make her return to professional tennis at the 2010 Brisbane International.

The 2009 SAP Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 121st edition of the SAP Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2009 ATP Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 9 through February 15, 2009.

The 2013 Apia International Sydney was a joint ATP and WTA tennis tournament, that was played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 121st edition of the Apia International Sydney, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2013 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2013 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events took place at the NSW Tennis Centre in Sydney, Australia, from 6 January to 12 January 2013.

The 2015 Claro Open Colombia was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament, and part of the 2015 ATP World Tour. It took place in Bogotá, Colombia at Centro de Alto Rendimiento, between 20 and 26 July 2015.

The 2017 US Open was the 137th edition of tennis' US Open and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. Experimental rules featured in qualifying for the main draw as well as in the junior, wheelchair and exhibition events.

The 2017 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 121st edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 28 May to 11 June and consisted of events for players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players also took part in singles and doubles events.

The 2018 French Open was a major tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 27 May to 10 June and consisted of events for players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players also took part in singles and doubles events. Rafael Nadal (Spain) was the defending champion in the Men's Singles and won his 11th French Open title. Simona Halep (Romania) won her first Grand Slam title in Women's Singles.

References