Van Assche returns to Top 100 following Lille Challenger title

  • Posted: Feb 23, 2026

Luca Van Assche returned to the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in 21 months following his Sunday triumph at the ATP Challenger event in Lille, France.

The 21-year-old — who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in 2023 and 2024 — won the Play In Challenger, his second title at that level this season. In the final, the home favourite downed fellow former Jeddah competitor Alexander Blockx 6-2, 6-4.

“This victory shows that I worked very hard before the start of the season,” said Van Assche, who earlier this month won the Quimper Challenger. “It’s the reward for all the work I’ve put in over the last few months and I’m very happy.”

Van Assche is the first player to win five titles at Challenger 125-level, a category that was introduced in 2019.

Van Assche’s Challenger 125 Titles
2026 – Lille, Quimper
2025 – Olbia
2023 – Sanremo, Pau

Van Assche, who has been as high as No. 63 in the PIF ATP Rankings, first cracked the Top 100 following his title at the 2023 Sanremo Challenger. Thanks to his Lille victory, Van Assche is back above that threshold for the first time since May 2024. Van Assche holds the final spot in this week’s Top 100.

Seeded seventh in Lille, Van Assche played his best tennis under pressure. He saved 25 of the 28 break points he faced throughout the week, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Frenchman raced past 16-year-old star Moise Kouame 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals and applied the finishing touches on his title run.

“I’m trying to find a strong playing identity, to maintain a very high level every day, and that’s what I managed to do this week,” said Van Assche. “I never played an exceptional match, but I managed to stay at a very good level.”

Sakellaridis, 21, surges to first Challenger trophy
Greek Stefanos Sakellaridis claimed his maiden Challenger title with a memorable victory at the Delhi Open 2026. The 21-year-old overcame Oliver Crawford 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(6) in a three-hour, nine-minute final battle, during which the Briton was two points from victory in the deciding-set tie-break. Crawford earlier let slip a 5-2 lead in the final set.

Sakellaridis is up 55 places to a career-high No. 220 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Gojo ousts three of top four seeds to win in Mexico
Borna Gojo earned his third Challenger crown at the Chacachallenger – Metepec Open, where the Croatian downed three of the top four seeds en route to the title. From the quarter-finals onward, the 27-year-old defeated second seed Bernard Tomic, third seed and home favourite Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez and fourth seed Alexis Galarneau.

Gojo, who in his previous outing reached the final at the Cleveland Challenger, defeated the Canadian Galarneau 6-1, 6-4 to lift the trophy.

Justo triumphs on home soil, claims maiden Challenger title
Argentine Guido Ivan Justo won the Challenger 50 event on home soil in Tigre, lifting his first trophy at that level and climbing to a career-high No. 277 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 28-year-old rallied past Lautaro Midon 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the AAT Challenger IEB+ Edicion Tigre I final.

 

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