Tennis glamour in the shape of Grigor Dimitrov as well as players from just outside the top 100 in the world will arrive in Dublin this week for the men’s ATP Challenger 75 tournament at Elm Park Golf & Sports Club in Donnybrook.
Professional tennis at a level just below ATP Tour events returns to Ireland for the first tournament of its kind on Irish soil in almost 20 years. Qualification for the competition begins on Sunday with the main draw matches running through next week and the final taking place on Saturday, June 20th.
Excitement has centred around Bulgarian Dimitrov, whose name is on the Irish Challenger 75 entry list. The 35-year-old made it to the semi-finals of three Grand Slam events in Australia (2017), Wimbledon (2014) and the US Open (2019).
In his prime, Dimitrov drew comparisons with Roger Federer, with his one-handed backhand and stylish game. He was precociously nicknamed “Baby Fed” as a junior and is regarded as one on the most talented players never to win a Grand Slam event.
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Probably just as well known for his past relationships with former Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, Dimitrov was two sets up against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of last year’s Wimbledon. But injury struck and he was forced to retire from the match with a tear to his pectoral muscle, allowing the Italian to go on to win his first championship at the All England Club.
“It is brilliant [Dimitrov is in the draw],” says Tennis Ireland chief executive Kevin Quinn. “Poor old Dimitrov was beating Sinner last year at Wimbledon before he had that awful accident. He was in top form as well, likely to go on and win that game.
“In terms of his ranking and applying to come over to play here in Dublin it is great. It has been fascinating to see the people inbound and looking to play in Ireland.
“I don’t know if it’s a novelty factor wanting to play in Dublin. But we probably offer something that’s kind of unique to tournaments that they have in the UK, which is that we have a similar climate.
“There are a couple of tournaments in Germany and Mallorca but they can’t really offer the same playing experience you might get in Wimbledon, maybe the odd shower, wind and hopefully a lot of sun too.”
Dimitrov aside, there are other highly ranked players arriving who are just outside the top 100 in the world.
The world 111, Frenchman Titouan Droguet, Francesco Maestrelli from Italy at 126 and American Colton Smith, ranked 176, are all on the entry list as is James McCabe, who has an Irish father and Filipino mother, and is ranked 233.
The world number one junior Ivan Ivanov will also take part before playing Junior Championships at Wimbledon.
The organisers also expect interest in the Irish event from players who fall out of the early rounds at the Queen’s and Halle tournaments.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for a big sport in Ireland with a big playing community and a voracious appetite for top-class tennis,” says Quinn. “This tournament was sold out in just a couple of hours.”
Other well-known tennis names including Thanasi Kokkinakis, the Australian doubles partner of Nick Kyrgios, have also entered.
The pair, Kokkinakis and Kyrgios, known as The Special Ks, won the Australian Open doubles title in 2022 with Kokkinakis making it to the third round of the French Open and second rounds of the other three Grand Slam events on numerous occasions.
Ranked now in the 500s but on the comeback from injury, the 30-year-old was at one point ranked at 65 in singles.
The Dublin ATP Challenger, while not in the same financial range as other grass-court events currently taking place at Halle and Queen’s, has a significant prize fund of just under €100,000 covering singles and doubles events.
Just as important, Elm Park gives an opportunity to those players with an eye on the Wimbledon qualifying event at Roehampton, which begins on June 22nd, to gain some experience on the faster surface following the clay-court season, which closed with the French Open final last week.
Grass practice courts located in Claremont Railway Union, not far from the Elm Park main site, are also being used by the competition organisers.
“The grass-court season isn’t that long,” says Quinn. “Indeed, we have being working with the LTA [Lawn Tennis Association] over the last couple of years to help them to extend the grass-court season.
“This has been an ambition of ours – to bring top-quality grass-court Challengers, men and women, in the lead into Wimbledon, working with the LTA to align our calendars to make that possible.”
The week also creates opportunities for Irish players to compete in a home venue. James McLoughlin and Dylan Leeman play on Wednesday to decide who gets an Irish wildcard.
“It is also part of our broader strategy in terms of providing more high-level professional tournaments for our own players to play at home, with their coaches and their families [present], and sleep in their own beds,” says Quinn.
Qualifying matches at the ATP Challenger 75 begin on Sunday, with the main draw matches taking place from Monday. The semi-finals are down to be played on Friday and the final scheduled for Saturday.
