The European clay swing on the Challenger Tour resumes this week with the Guerri Napoli Tennis Cup from March 23 to 29, now staging its third consecutive edition as an ATP Challenger 125. Organized by Master Group Sport in collaboration with the Tennis Club Napoli, the event has grown in profile and attracted both established names and emerging talent.

Recent Naples winners have used the tournament as a springboard. Luciano Darderi was a finalist in 2025 and is now a Top 20 player, while Vit Kopriva broke into the Top 100 after lifting the trophy in Naples. This year the top seed is world No. 55 Daniel Altmaier, who received a main draw wild card and opens against Miguel Damas of Spain as he pursues an eighth Challenger title.

Defending champion Vit Kopriva is the No. 2 seed and heads the bottom half of the draw, set to face a qualifier in round one. Alexandre Muller, also drawn against a qualifier, and Stan Wawrinka complete the top four seeds. The 40-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion recently re-entered the Top 100 after reaching the third round of the Australian Open and will meet Matteo Martineau of France in his opening match.

“In the final week of March, the Tennis Club Napoli will once again take center stage on the global ATP calendar by hosting a new edition of the Napoli Tennis Cup. I would like to emphasize that Naples has now firmly and consistently established itself within the international tennis circuit for quite some time,” said Riccardo Villari, President of the Tennis Club Napoli.

“I’m very excited about this year’s edition. When I was playing, this was my favourite tournament. I expect packed crowds every day. The entry list is great, featuring champions with experience like Wawrinka, solid Top 100 guys like Kopriva and young potential stars like Federico Cina,” said tournament director Alessandro Motti.

Across the Atlantic, the second edition of the Morelia Open begins on hard courts at Club de Golf Tres Marías. The ATP Challenger 125 field is led by world No. 80 James Duckworth, who faces Marc-Andrea Huesler in round one. Adam Walton is the second seed and meets Luka Pavlovic, Tristan Schoolkate is third and will play a qualifier, while Coleman Wong starts against Nicola Mejia. Michael Mmoh, last week’s Morelos Open champion, opens with Beibit Zhukayev.

“The Morelia Open is not an improvised project. We are building a tournament with an international and long-term vision. The renovation of Club Tres Marías is a strategic investment that raises the competitive level and the overall experience of the event,” said tournament director Raúl Zurutuza Barclay. The Morelia entry list also includes Mexican home favourites led by world No. 303 Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez and wild cards Alan Magadan, Alan Ruibio Fierros and Alex Hernandez.

Luca Van Assche captured the Play In Challenger Lille title with a composed 6–2, 6–4 win over Alexander Blockx, producing a quiet but efficient performance that returned him to the world’s top 100. The No. 7 seed saved all three break points he faced and converted each of his three break-point opportunities as he closed out the final in one hour and 19 minutes.

The 21-year-old’s triumph in Lille is his second ATP Challenger victory of the 2026 season, following his earlier title in Quimper. “Less than six months ago I was ranked outside the Top 200 in the world. Today, thanks to this win, I’m back in the Top 100,” Van Assche said moments after match point, holding the trophy in his hands. The 2021 Roland-Garros junior champion earned €30,460 and 125 ATP ranking points and climbs 30 places to world No. 100 in this week’s rankings.

Van Assche’s week featured a dramatic opening match in which he was two points from elimination against Leandro Riedi, trailing 6–3, 5–4, 0–30 before mounting a comeback aided by strong local support. “It was incredible, thank you! On Monday night I was down 6–3, 5–4, 0–30 and you pushed me through. If I’m here today, it’s thanks to you!” he told the crowd during the trophy ceremony. On his way to the title he also defeated Moise Kouame 6–1, 6–1 in the semi-finals. The Parisian teenager, who turns 17 on March 6, earned three straight-set wins in his fourth ATP Challenger Tour main-draw appearance and rose to world No. 397.

One week earlier at the Teréga Open Pau-Pyrénées, Raphael Collignon successfully defended his crown, defeating Benjamin Bonzi 7–6(5), 6–1 in one hour and 22 minutes in front of nearly 3,500 spectators. Collignon did not drop a set across five matches and became the first No. 1 seed in tournament history to lift the trophy, collecting €30,460 and 125 ATP ranking points. The Play In Challenger Lille drew more than 12,000 spectators across the week, matching the event’s attendance record.

The Play In Challenger Lille returns Feb. 16-22 at Tennis Club Lillois Lille Métropole, now established as France’s biggest professional tournament north of Paris. Upgraded in 2025 to an ATP Challenger Tour 125 event with $225,000 in prize money plus hospitality, the eighth edition brings the strongest field in the event’s history with three Top 100 players.

Among the headline names are Filip Misolic, Jacob Fearnley and Hugo Gaston. Misolic, the world No. 81, opens against Martin Landaluce as he seeks his fifth Challenger title, his first of 2026 and his first on hard court after winning just one match so far this season. Fearnley, at world No. 84, leads the bottom half of the draw and will meet Clement Chidekh in round one following a run to the Bahrain Tennis Open quarterfinals and a solid Davis Cup Qualifiers showing for Great Britain. Gaston, world No. 96, makes his debut in Lille and will face Sebastian Ofner.

Defending champion Arthur Bouquier returns with a wild card after his qualifying-to-title victory last year. The former world No. 189 begins against a qualifier and is searching for his first match win of the 2026 season. Nine French players occupy main-draw spots, and the event also highlights promising teenagers and rising pros. Sixteen-year-old Moise Kouame, currently No. 14 in the ITF Junior Rankings, claimed two ITF World Tennis Tour titles this season and will face a qualifier in the first round. Other young contenders include Justin Engel, Joel Schwaerzler and fourth seed Alexander Blockx.

Lloyd Harris arrives in Lille on the back of a 10-match winning streak after consecutive Challenger titles in Soma Bay and Tenerife. After defeating Alejandro Moro Canas 7-5, 7-5 in Sunday’s final, Harris reflected on the victory: “It was a big battle, a very long match in two sets but in the end, I played two fantastic games to break in each set and played all the big points well. That was key today.” On his comeback he added, “It’s a new career for me, it’s a new start,” and “It feels like I am starting a new process from nothing. I prefer not to compare it to the past. It was a younger me and I had to undergo many surgeries. I am just trying to improve day by day now and that’s more important for me.”