The tournament, which starts today at the Villa Reale Tennis Club, has risen this year to the 125 category. Number 1 in the seeding is the Belgian Collignon
The step, for the Challenger of Monza, was short. The tournament was established only last year, with category 100 (the points in the ranking that the winner earns). And already this year it will be able to boast the status of Challenger 125. A non-trivial promotion for a tournament only in its second edition, which will be played on the red clay of the Villa Reale Tennis Club in Monza. And which, in addition to great anticipation in the city, between advertising and themed products in the streets of the centre, will also be able to boast an excellent entry list. The first seed, in an important week for world tennis being that of the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, will be world no.65 Raphael Collignon, reigning champion. But his is just one of the prestigious names, given the presence of three top 100 players and players with important palmares, who will play on the pitches of the Lombard city.
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For a Challenger, especially when playing at the same time as a Masters 1000, it is not a given to have a high-level participation in terms of registered players. But Monza, which had already performed well in 2025, benefiting among other things from the star of Vasamì who found his first quarter-final at this level in Lombardy, is an exception. In addition to Collignon, who among other things had put Musetti in difficulty in his debut at the Australian Open, Valentin Royer, Martin Landaluce, Dino Prizmic and our Mattia Bellucci will be at the start. With Hugo Gaston, n.116 in the world, occupying the role of eighth seed. To give you an idea, at the Naples Challenger played a couple of weeks ago, again in the 125 category, the eighth seed was the Frenchman Blanchet, n.157 ATP. Also underlining the large presence of Italian players, some by right and some through wild cards, with the aim of doing well in one of the many (four between March and April only) events of the Challenger circuit that are held in our country. An important springboard for young people, an opportunity to grow and find their place in adult tennis.
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Mattia Bellucci, third seed and No.73 in the world, will be our highest-ranked representative. He will make his debut against Dusan Lajovic, who has slipped in the rankings but is a former 1000 finalist (in Monte Carlo, on Easter Sunday 2019 against Fabio Fognini). The great curiosity, however, is for Luca Nardi, who has now finished at n.140 in the ATP rankings and has just suffered three consecutive defeats, as well as having been out of action since March 3rd. He will make his debut, despite preferring hard courts to clay courts, against number 2 Royer. Without forgetting the presence of seasoned players like Cecchinato and Travaglia, already present in the draw, and the many hopes for our colors in the qualifiers. Jacopo Vasamì, world no. 2 at junior level in 2025, did not receive a wild card for the main draw and, to try to enter it and defend the quarter-finals obtained last year, he will have to deal with the Czech Krumich today, and then against the top seed Squire or the Italian Didoni. And the 2005 players Bondioli, Caniato and Romano are also present in different areas of the cadet draw. Objective: the main draw of the Monza Challenger, with the city which, between themed shop windows and placemats dedicated to the tournament, is already dressed up for great tennis. With the hope, next Sunday, of being able to celebrate an Italian winner after the four semi-finalists in 2025 were all foreigners.
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