Joel Schwaerzler’s historic title leads to five Challenger moments to remember in 2024 | ATP Tour

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Schwaerzler’s historic title leads to five Challenger moments to remember in 2024

A single-season record 27 different players with college tennis experience have won Challenger titles

December 14, 2024

To mark the end of the 2024 season, ATPtour.com highlights five memorable moments from the ATP Challenger Tour season.

Schwarzler’s ‘Miracle’
#NextGenATP Joel Schwaerzler entered the record books at the Macedonia Open, where he became the fourth player to win a title at that level while holding the No. 1 junior ranking. Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Wu Yibing also accomplished the feat.

“I was surprised,” Schwaerzler said. “I knew I could win games there but actually winning a tournament is something different.”

The 18-year-old, who won this year’s Roland Garros boys’ doubles event alongside Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, finished the season at No. 330 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Schwaerzler is the fourth youngest Austrian winner in the history of the ATP Challenger Tour.

Mejia wins the Challenger title in memory of his late father
Nearly seven years since his father’s death, Mejia celebrated a career milestone in April, when he won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. After his victory, Mejia was enthusiastic, yet emotional, as he pointed to the sky. “Papá, papá,” he said.

“Every day that goes by, I talk about him, I think about him, I dream about him in my sleep because I think about him all the time,” said the number 219 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. “It was a very difficult battle for me to see and know that he is no longer in the world. I feel that you are near me every day of my life. That’s what will keep me going forever because the power he gave me is unconditional.

“I think that when I raised the cup, I was looking at the sky as a sign of relief… I wanted to look at my father, obviously I pointed the cup at him.” Read ATPtour.com’s feature: Mejia wins Challenger title in memory of late father: ‘The pain never ends’.

Eight-year-old Nicolas Mejia with his father Gustavo.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2024/04/03/18/18 /mejia -gustavo-1-2024.jpg”>
^{Eight-year-old Nicolas Mejia and his father Gustavo. Credit: Mejia Family}

Rwanda Challenger shows hope and healing for the nation
This year marks 30 years since the genocide in Rwanda, an atrocity that claimed an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 lives. As the country in central Africa continues to recover and rebuild, tennis plays a small but important part of the healing process. The ATP Challenger Tour spent two weeks (26 February-10 March) in the capital Kigali, making Rwanda the seventh African country to host an event at that level.

Rather than trying to erase a dark chapter from history, the tournament took another approach: promoting education and honoring the fallen by visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial. More than 20 players visited the memorial.

“Rwanda took a risk to organize the first major tournament in this part of the world,” said tournament director Arzel Mevellec. “It is a very important symbol. Rwanda is a small country but with big events now. Soccer, NBA Academy Africa, and now Rwanda is on the world map for tennis and I think that is the start of something big. Rwanda can be proud of that.”

^{Rwanda is the seventh African country to host an ATP Challenger Tour event. Credit: Rwanda Tennis Federation}

Champions from the college ranks
The college pathway continues to be an important stepping stone for many players to find success on the ATP Challenger Tour and beyond.

A single-season record 27 different players with college tennis experience won titles this year, led by four-time winner Jacob Fearnley, who helped TCU capture the 2024 NCAA D1 men’s tennis tournament in May before quickly advancing to the Challenger Tour. The four-time ITA All-American finished the season at No. 99 in the PIF ATP Rankings, a significant improvement from his No. 1 ranking. 646 at the beginning of the year.

2023 NCAA singles champion Ethan Quinn captured his first Challenger title in Champaign, his final tournament of the year. Tristan Boyer (Stanford), Federico Agustin Gomez (Louisville), Alexander Ritschard (Virginia), Learner Tien (USC) and Valentin Vacherot (Texas A&M) all won three Challenger titles.

An outstanding start to the season for Vacherot
Vacherot started the season on one of the hottest Challenger runs in recent memory. The 26-year-old won his first 15 Challenger-level matches of the year, claiming three titles. It was the longest winning streak to start a Challenger season since 2017. Vacherot was crowned in consecutive weeks in Nonthaburi, Thailand and won a month later in Pune, India.

A shoulder injury unfortunately derailed Vacherot’s stellar season when he did not compete in any more tournaments after the US Open. Vacherot achieved a season record of 21-3 (Entry Level) and held the second-highest winning percentage on the ATP Challenger Tour this year (87.5 percent), only behind Fearnley (27-3, 90%).