The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) anticipates a very competitive Rwanda Challenger 50 Tour, considering a host of big tennis stars expected to headline the tennis show in Kigali from February 26 to March 10.

Russian Ivan Gakhov, currently ranked 172, will lead a strong entry list in the Main Draw of the Rwanda Challenger 50 Tour which makes its debut in Sub-Saharan Africa at the IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis Club.

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Joining the 27-year old left-hander are notable contenders such as Frenchmen Calvin Hemery (221), Clement Tabur (226), Argentine Marco Trungelliti (229), and Romanian Nicholas David Lonely (267), forming a competitive lineup that promises thrilling matches.

"We will have a very strong competition following the list of players who have been confirmed. The top five seeds are in the range of players between 100 and 300 in the Main draw as predicted," an ATP official said.

The list for the main draw has 21 players. Cut off is 540.

Other players will come from France, Israel, Argentina, Romania, Croatia, Australia, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Egypt, Switzerland, Moldova, and Italy.

The tournament has garnered significant attention, boasting over 80 players eager to showcase their talent.

The qualifying draw will feature 24 best-ranked players directly eligible, while the remaining participants will await their chance on the alternate list. The qualifiers will be played on February 25-26.

The top six players from the qualifying draw, will secure spots alongside 21 directly accepted players to be joined by three wildcards and two special exemptions entries, culminating in a total of 32 players, who will battle it out in the inaugural Rwanda Challenger 50 Tour, Week 1 from February 26 to March 2. Week 2 is set for March 4-10.

Meanwhile, for Rwanda, the excitement is further fueled by the prospect of local players making their mark at the second-highest level of men’s professional tennis.

Times Sport has learnt that, players, potentially including members of the Davis Cup team—Ernest Habiyambere, Joshua Muhire, Junior Hakizwumwani, Claude Ishyimwe, and Etienne Niyigena—are in contention for wildcard entries, offering a homegrown flavor to the tournament.

Who is eligible?

According to ATP, players have usually had success at the World Tennis Tour Men before competing in Challengers.

Most Challenger players have a world ranking (ATP) between 100 and 500 to be directly considered in main draw or qualifying draw.

"On the other hand, we may have players above the 500 rankings depending on the attractiveness of the competition," an ATP official said.

"For the case of Rwanda Challenger 50, the competition received significant attention with more than 80 players of which 24 best ranked players will be directly eligible in the qualifying Draw and the others remain in the alternate list," he noted.

Top seed Gakhov, who has previously climbed to 142 in world ranking, last year (April 2023) in Monte Carlo, played an entertaining contest match against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

As the players gear up for intense competition, the winner of the Rwanda Challenger will not only claim 50 ATP points but also secure a share of the prize money, estimated to be around $50,000.