Raphael Collignon has turned a string of Challenger successes into a structured preparation for bigger stages.

The 24-year-old has been the No. 1 seed at two Challenger events this year and won both. In February he successfully retained his title in Pau. This week he completed a run in Monza without dropping a set, finishing with straight-set victories over Martin Landaluce and Dino Prizmic. The results have helped the world No. 68 refine the parts of his game he wants ready for Grand Slams.

At the BNP Paribas Open Collignon welcomed the chance to hit with a top player and focused on the intensity of that practice. “You see what he’s doing in training, you are very close to him. And you see what he tries to do, always puts pressure on you,” he said. “Every point counts. Tries to goes forward, not just putting in the volley. Trying to practice like he’s playing a match to be ready.”

After losing his inaugural main-draw match to Joao Fonseca, Collignon found momentum again in Miami. He saved a match point to defeat Grigor Dimitrov for the second time this season and then knocked out 14th-ranked Flavio Cobolli, bringing him to 4-2 against Top 20 opponents.

“I’m a guy who doesn’t like to lose. I try to fight every ball, this is my mentality,” he said. “I will never lose the intensity. That’s why I think I’m playing good.”

Collignon has alternated between tour-level events and the ATP Challenger Tour across his past six tournaments, with a Davis Cup appearance for his country included. He sees being top seed at Challengers as a specific test. “When you are ranked like me, you can be first seeded. You can try to figure out the pressure more because everybody is thinking you’re gonna win everything. It’s a good exercise on the court,” Collignon shared. “The Challenger Tour is a very good circuit. The level there is very high.”

Born in Rochester, Minn. shortly before his family’s relocation to Belgium, Collignon is closing in on a full set of major main-draw debuts with Roland Garros approaching. Off court he also enjoys fashion shoots and magazine work. “I like the pictures. I did a very famous magazine in Belgium,” he says of his experience with Le Vif. “I like to post something of myself with good clothes. I do it with pleasure.”

Raul Brancaccio won the Open Menorca title, defeating Spanish qualifier Alex Martinez 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the ATP Challenger 100 event. The Italian alternate claimed the third Challenger trophy of his career, while Martinez’s run from qualifying to the championship match emerged as the week’s most notable storyline.

Brancaccio added Menorca to earlier Challenger wins in San Benedetto in 2022 and Noumea, New Caledonia in 2023. He reached the final after surviving a dramatic semifinal with American qualifier Dali Blanch, prevailing 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (2) in one hour and 53 minutes. “Dali played really well but I stayed focus and I was positive until the end,” Brancaccio said after the semifinal. He acknowledged a physical dip in the second set. “I am not sure what happened,” Brancaccio admitted. “I have to check with the physio and then we’ll see. I hope to be ready for tomorrow.”

On the final day at the Club de Tenis Ciutadella the world No. 379 converted four of five break-point chances and won 59 per cent of the points played to close out the title in 69 minutes. “I am very happy to have won the title. The last few years have not always been easy for me,” said Brancaccio, who is based in Valencia, Spain and has previously been ranked inside the world’s Top 125. “Now I will try to build on the level I showed here.” He earned €23,750 and 100 ATP Ranking points and will next compete at the Monza Open.

Martinez, 25, arrived in Menorca through qualifying and produced a string of upset wins on clay. He beat top seed Valentin Royer 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 then, hours later, defeated Pol Martin Tiffon 7-6 (5), 6-1. “Winning in the afternoon after already being tired is a great effort,” Martinez said after reaching the semifinals. He then defeated Daniel Rincon 7-5, 7-5. “I was staying strong mentally,” Martinez said afterwards. “Yesterday was a physical day for both of us as we both had to play two matches. After a huge effort like this, it’s easy to let go. I was really thinking about backing up this today.”

Martinez’s background includes four years at the University of Oklahoma, selection for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator in 2024 and two ITF titles last season in Tulsa and Harlingen. Reaching Menorca’s final marked the second Challenger title match of his career. “It means a lot, as there is a lot of struggle and pain going through this sport,” Martinez said before the final. “You have to sacrifice a lot and have to work really hard. It is just a reward for the push I have been done the last couple of months and after my injury.” Off court he kept things simple. “Every evening we go out for a walk, keeping our phones in the hotel room,” Martinez said. “There is a good environment in the town. It’s quite ‘tranquilo’ and it’s good to disconnect.” “It’s been helping. We have been doing it since Tuesday and here I am in the final,” Martinez had said on Saturday.

Borna Gojo lifted the biggest title of his career at the Morelia Open, adding a second triumph in Mexico during a strong 2026 run. The eighth seed defeated Juan Pablo Ficovich 7-6(5), 6-2 in the final at Estadio Tres Marías in one hour and 32 minutes. The opening set was decided in a tight tie-break and Gojo used that momentum to break serve at key moments in the second set and close the match convincingly.

The 28-year-old Split native reflected on the physical and mental demands of the final. “It was a very difficult match. Juan is a great opponent, but today the weather was a challenge for both of us, and in the end, I managed to close it out with my serve. This victory means a lot to me. The past two years have been very difficult after a back injury, but today I’ve won the biggest title of my career and I’m very grateful to Morelia and Mexico for the past few weeks,” he said.

Gojo’s Morelia title is his second in Mexico this season, following the Challenger in Metepec in February. All four of his ATP Challenger titles have come on fast surfaces, including Ortisei in 2022 and Sioux Falls in 2024. He dropped just one set in Morelia, to Quinn Vandecasteele in the second round. The 125 ranking points from the victory lift him 12 places from No. 151 to No. 139.

On clay in Naples, fifth-seeded Hamad Medjedovic won the Guerri Napoli Tennis Cup, beating Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes. Medjedovic, a 22-year-old Serbian long regarded as a protégé of Novak Djokovic, controlled the final against the top seed and world No. 55 and drew repeated applause from a sold-out Centre Court. He recovered from early struggles against Hynek Barton and Stefanos Sakellaridis before beating Alexandre Muller in the quarterfinals and Vitaliy Sachko in the semifinals.

“It has been an amazing week. I am really happy to win this tournament,” Medjedovic said. “It’s the first clay-court tournament of the season and I came here without high expectations. But with the support from an amazing crowd, I managed to play a great level of tennis. I was a bit sick at the beginning of the week but was able to increase my level every round and eventually win the trophy.” The 125 points move him from No. 115 to No. 81; Altmaier rises to No. 52.

The Guerri Napoli Tennis Cup finished with record-breaking attendance and participation, surpassing 2025 figures. “The organizational and public success of the Guerri Napoli Tennis Cup has been exciting,” said Antonio Santa Maria, General Manager of organizer Master Group Sport. “The setting of the Tennis Club Napoli is unique in the world, but that alone is not enough; it requires efficient organization in every aspect. We paid attention to every detail in terms of services for players and fans to maintain a high level for the event. ]”