
The longest ATP Challenger Tour final in history? The first unranked Challenger champion? France's record-breaking 27 titles? All of these occured during the 2023 ATP Challenger Tour season, in which 46 different countries hosted a tournament while witnessing the rapid rise of young stars and the resurgence of Tour veterans.
ATPTour.com reviews key facts and figures to remember from the 2023 ATP Challenger Tour season.
Comesana Collects Most Match Wins
Argentine Francisco Comesana tallied a 45-21 Challenger-match record in 2023, edging countryman Facundo Diaz Acosta by one match for the most wins this season. Comesana, 23, was crowned champion in Vicenza and Liberec. On two separate occasions, Comesana went on hot streaks in which he won 12 of 13 matches across three tournaments.
The 22-year-old Diaz Acosta was not far behind with a 44-16 match record. The Buenos Aires native captured four titles (Savannah, Oeiras, Milan, Montevideo) and hit a career-high No. 93 in August after making his Top 100 debut the previous month.
Player | W-L | Titles |
Francisco Comesana | 45-21 | 2 |
Facundo Diaz Acosta | 44-16 | 4 |
Luciano Darderi | 42-25 | 2 |
Navone Nails Five Titles
Argentine Mariano Navone was unstoppable during the second half of the year. From 19 June to 12 November, the 22-year-old competed in six Challenger finals, triumphing in five of them: Poznan, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe-2.
“In May of last year I was losing in the first round of an M15 and today I have won five Challengers,” Navone said in October. “At that moment it was difficult but to that kid I would tell him to be calm, that good things are going to come.”
Diaz Acosta, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Thiago Seyboth Wild and Alejandro Tabilo all tied for second with four Challenger trophies in 2023.
Teen Titans
At 17 years, eight months, Czech Jakub Mensik won on home soil in Prague to become the youngest Challenger champion of 2023. Mensik was one of 12 teenagers to claim a Challenger title this season. Only three teens earned more than one Challenger title in 2023: Luca Van Assche, Alex Michelsen and Hamad Medjedovic.
Biggest Movers To Top 100
American Alex Michelsen, who earned two ATP Challenger Tour titles this season, led the way as one of the five biggest movers to the Top 100.
Player | Ranking Jump | Year-End 2022-2023 | Titles |
Alex Michelsen | +504 | 601 – 97 | 2 |
Thiago Seyboth Wild | +313 | 392 – 79 | 4 |
Arthur Fils | +213 | 249 – 36 | 1 |
Max Purcell | +178 | 223 – 45 | 3 |
Sebastian Ofner | +152 | 195 – 43 | 1 |
Title Leaders By Country
Players from 33 countries won titles this year. Frenchmen earned a record-setting 27 trophies, marking the most titles by a country in a single season, surpassing Argentina’s 23 from last year.
In October, Abdullah Shelbayh became the first player from Jordan to win an ATP Challenger Tour title when he won the LTP Challenger in Charleston, South Carolina.
Country |
Titles |
Winners |
France |
27 | Lestienne-3, Van Assche-2, Paire-2, Humbert-2, Grenier-2, Gaston-2, Atmane-2, Cazaux-1, Fils-1, Barrere-1, Mpetshi Perricard-1, Muller-1, Halys-1, Guinard-1, Rinderknech-1, Weber-1, Blanchet-1, Jacquet-1, Moutet-1 |
Argentina |
21 | Navone-5, Diaz Acosta-4, JM Cerundolo-2, Comesana-2, Coria-2, Tirante-2, Collarini-1, Delbonis-1, Olivieri-1, Ugo Carabelli-1 |
Italy |
17 |
Arnaldi-3, Gigante-2, Darderi-2, Nardi-2, Brancaccio-1, Zeppieri-1, Cobolli-1, Giannessi-1, Agamenone-1, Bellucci-1, Pellegrino-1, Fognini-1 |
United States |
17 |
Kovacevic-4, Svajda-3, Michelsen-2, Johnson-2, Kypson-2, Cressy-1, Moreno de Alboran-1, Nava-1, Michelsen-1, Kudla-1 |
ATP Tour & Challenger Tour champions
Roberto Carballes Baena, Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert secured dream runs on both the ATP Tour and Challenger Tour this season. The Spaniard Carballes Baena, who won the ATP 250 event in Marrakech, defended his Seville Challenger title in September.
France’s 19-year-old Fils started the season in the best way possible, winning the opening week Oeiras Indoor 2. His breakthrough year continued as he became the youngest ATP Tour champion this season when he triumphed in Lyon. Fils finished the season at World No. 36.
Despite Humbert’s brief exit from the Top 100 in January, the Frenchman embarked on a memorable season in which he claimed two consecutive ATP Challenger Tour 175 titles: Cagliari and Bordeaux. The 25-year-old closed the season by winning the ATP 250 event in Lyon, finishing at a career-high No. 20.
ATP Challenger 175 Events
In March, the ATP Challenger Tour began 175 category tournaments, which are held during select ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. Nuno Borges won the premiere event at the Arizona Tennis Classic in Phoenix. Andy Murray earned his first title at any level since 2019 when he won the Aix-en-Provence Challenger. Humbert won in Cagliari and Bordeaux while German Dominik Koepfer returned to the winners' circle in Turin.
Fast Facts