Kigali will for the third time in a row host the ATP Challenger 75 and 100 in 2026 with world’s top professional tennis players set to battle for ATP points and prize money across two weeks. The tournament is sanctioned by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), representing the second-highest tier of men’s tennis competitions after serving as a key pathway for players to earn ranking points and advance to the main ATP Tour. The Rwanda Challenger, hosted annual in Kigali since 2024, is on the African Tennis Tour calendar which also includes Abidjan and Brazzaville among other host cities. The first week of Rwanda Challenger will take place from March 2-8 and the second week is due from March 9-15. Both tournaments will take place at RP-Kigali College/ Kicukiro Ecology Tennis Club. ALSO READ: Royer wins back-to-back Challenger trophies in Kigali The 2025 edition held from February 24 to March 9 saw with ATP Challenger 75 and 100 won by Frenchman Valentin Royer, who defeated Dutch player Guy Den Ouden 6-3, 6-4 in the second week, after previously overcoming Slovak veteran Andrej Martin 6-1, 6-2 in the opening week. Rwanda first hosted an ATP Challenger event in 2024, becoming only the second country in Sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa, to host an ATP Tour-level event. ALSO READ: Royer dominates Martin to win ATP Challenger 75 trophy in Kigali Notably, Polish tennis star Kamil Majchrzak claimed the title in the first week of the 2024 tournament, defeating Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti in a tightly contested final. Trungelliti bounced back the following week, securing the championship by beating France’s Clement Tabur in the final.
