Tennis tournament
The Tel Aviv Open (also known as the Tel Aviv Watergen Open due to sponsorship reasons) is an ATP Tour -affiliated tennis tournament. It was first played from 1978 through 1999 (skipping 1982 due to the 1982 Lebanon War and 1997 as it transitioned back to the Challenger Series) and was to be resumed in 2014 as a replacement for the St. Petersburg Open ,[ 1] however its return was cancelled due to security concerns arising from the 2014 Gaza War and scrapped permanently in 2015. On June 21, 2022, it was announced that the tournament would return later that year, albeit in a different venue than previous editions. The tournament was planned to continue in 2023, but was cancelled due to the Israel–Hamas war .[ 2]
Israeli tennis player Amos Mansdorf appeared in the final five times, winning in 1987, making him the only Israeli to win the event. Jimmy Connors won his final career singles title at the event in 1989.
In 1990 and 1991 the tournament was known as the Riklis Classic and in 1996 it was known as the Eisenberg Israel Open .
The tournament still holds the ATP record for the youngest winner of an ATP event (Aaron Krickstein in 1983, at the age of 16 and 2 months).
Year
Champions
Runners-up
Score
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1978
Tom Okker
Peter Feigl
6-7, 6-4, 6-2
↓ Grand Prix event ↓
1979
Tom Okker
Per Hjertquist
6–4, 6–3
1980
Harold Solomon
Shlomo Glickstein
6–2, 6–3
1981
Mel Purcell
Per Hjertquist
6–1, 6–1
1982
Not held due to the 1982 Lebanon War
1983
Aaron Krickstein
Christoph Zipf
7–6, 6–3
1984
Aaron Krickstein
Shahar Perkiss
6–4, 6–1
1985
Brad Gilbert
Amos Mansdorf
6–3, 6–2
1986
Brad Gilbert
Aaron Krickstein
7–5, 6–2
1987
Amos Mansdorf
Brad Gilbert
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
1988
Brad Gilbert
Aaron Krickstein
4–6, 7–6, 6–2
1989
Jimmy Connors
Gilad Bloom
2–6, 6–2, 6–1
↓ ATP World Series event ↓
1990
Andrei Chesnokov
Amos Mansdorf
6–4, 6–3
1991
Leonardo Lavalle
Christo van Rensburg
6–2, 3–6, 6–3
1992
Jeff Tarango
Stephane Simian
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
1993
Stefano Pescosolido
Amos Mansdorf
7–6, 7–5
1994
Wayne Ferreira
Amos Mansdorf
7–6, 6–3
1995
Ján Krošlák
Javier Sánchez
6–3, 6–4
1996
Javier Sánchez
Marcos Ondruska
6–4, 7–5
1997
Not held
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1998
Gianluca Pozzi
Lior Mor
6–1, 6–7, 6–3
1999
Ctislav Doseděl
Noam Okun
7–6, 6–3
2000–2021
Not held; return cancelled due to 2014 Gaza War
↓ ATP Tour 250 event ↓
2022
Novak Djokovic
Marin Čilić
6–3, 6–4
2023
Not held due to Israel–Hamas war
Year
Champions
Runners-up
Score
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1978
Peter Feigl Eric Friedler
Mike Fishbach Tom Okker
6-3, 6-7, 6-3
↓ Grand Prix event ↓
1979
Ilie Năstase Tom Okker
Mike Cahill Colin Dibley
7–5, 6–4
1980
Per Hjertquist Steve Krulevitz
Eric Fromm Cary Leeds
7–6, 6–3
1981
Steve Meister Van Winitsky
John Feaver Steve Krulevitz
3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1982
Not held due to the 1982 Lebanon War
1983
Colin Dowdeswell Zoltán Kuhárszky
Peter Elter Peter Feigl
6–3, 7–5
1984
Peter Doohan Brian Levine
Colin Dowdeswell Jakob Hlasek
6–3, 6–4
1985
Brad Gilbert Ilie Năstase
Michael Robertson Florin Segărceanu
6–3, 6–2
1986
John Letts Peter Lundgren
Christo Steyn Danie Visser
6–3, 3–6, 6–3
1987
Gilad Bloom Shahar Perkiss
Wolfgang Popp Huub van Boeckel
6–2, 6–4
1988
Roger Smith Paul Wekesa
Patrick Baur Alexander Mronz
6–3, 6–3
1989
Jeremy Bates Patrick Baur
Rikard Bergh Per Henricsson
6–1, 4–6, 6–1
↓ ATP World Series event ↓
1990
Nduka Odizor Christo van Rensburg
Ronnie Båthman Rikard Bergh
6–3, 6–4
1991
David Rikl Michiel Schapers
Javier Frana Leonardo Lavalle
6–2, 6–7, 6–3
1992
Mike Bauer João Cunha Silva
Mark Koevermans Tobias Svantesson
6–3, 6–4
1993
Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez
Mike Bauer David Rikl
6–4, 6–4
1994
Lan Bale John-Laffnie de Jager
Jan Apell Jonas Björkman
6–7, 6–2, 7–6
1995
Jim Grabb Jared Palmer
Kent Kinnear David Wheaton
6–4, 7–5
1996
Marcos Ondruska Grant Stafford
Noam Behr Eyal Erlich
6–3, 6–2
1997
Not held
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1998
Radek Štěpánek Michal Tabara
Noam Okun Nir Welgreen
7–6, 6–3
1999
Noam Behr Eyal Ran
Amir Hadad Andrew Ilie
6–3, 6–2
2000–2021
Not held; return cancelled due to 2014 Gaza War
↓ ATP Tour 250 event ↓
2022
Rohan Bopanna Matwé Middelkoop
Santiago González Andrés Molteni
6–2, 6–4
2023
Not held due to Israel–Hamas war
Present
Buenos Aires
Marseille
Delray Beach
New Haven / Winston-Salem
2009, 2011–present: Kitzbühel
2009–2010, 2012–present: Lyon / Montpellier
2009–2014, 2017–2019, 2021–present: Eastbourne
2009–2014, 2020–present: Viña del Mar / Santiago
2009–2019, 2024–present: Brisbane
2009–2016, 2024–present: Bucharest
Stuttgart
Båstad
Gstaad
Umag
Stockholm
Metz
2009–2019, 2022–present: Houston
Casablanca / Marrakech
's-Hertogenbosch
2009–2020, 2023–present: Auckland
2015–2019, 2021–present: Geneva
2015–2019, 2023–present: Chengdu
2016–present: Antwerp
2016–2019, 2021–present: Los Cabos
2020, 2022–present: Adelaide
2020–2021, 2023–present: Astana/Almaty
2021–present: Mallorca
2021, 2024-present: Belgrade 2
2024-present: Hong Kong
Hangzhou
Past
Previous men's tournament categories