ATP acts swiftly as Sofia Open returns in place of Tel Aviv Watergen Open due to ongoing Isreal-Hamas war
ATPWednesday, 11 October 2023 at 16:30
With the ongoing war in Israel with Palestinian militant group, Hamas leaving more than 1,200 dead in the country, the ATP have swiftly acted to shift one of their upcoming ATP 250 tournaments away from the country.
The Tel Aviv Watergen Open was set to return to the tour this season which took place between November 5-11 last season. It was the inaugural tournament which saw Novak Djokovic crowned as champion.
He defeated Marin Cilic in the final 6-3, 6-4 and was mainly introduced in order to cover the loss of the China portion of the season being curtailed due to COVID-19.
But instead another tournament which made way on this year's calendar will return with the Sofia Open which was won by Marc-Andrea Huesler now taking the spot in the first week of November.
They outbidded Gijon who also wanted to stage the tournament after it was put up for bid, but Sofia wanted it enough to bid an extra 325,000 euros.
Only a tournament on the calendar for one year, Gijon was won by Andrey Rublev after being awarded a single license, so they will likely return to the drawing board to attempt to return more permanently going forward.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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