Engel wins youngest Challenger final since Ancic-Nadal to cap historic weekend
It was a historic weekend on the ATP Challenger Tour, highlighted by an-all #NextGenATP final between 18-year-olds Justin Engel and Federico Cina — the youngest championship match at that level since 2003, when Mario Ancic beat Rafael Nadal. Coincidentally, both of those matches happened in Hamburg, Germany.
That was not the only piece of history made Sunday. Patrick Kypson clinched the United States’ 20th Challenger title this year, breaking the country’s single-season record set in 2006.
With Joao Fonseca’s triumph at the ATP 500 in Basel, the Brazilian became the second player since 2014 to win multiple ATP Tour and multiple ATP Challenger Tour titles in the same season. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard also achieved the feat last year. Fonseca won the Canberra and Phoenix Challengers this year, while also triumphing at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires.
Engel overtook Fonseca as the youngest Challenger champion of 2025 with his dream run on home soil at the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup, where he defeated Italian Federico Cina 7-5, 7-6(4) in the final. At 18 years and 25 days, Engel is the fifth-youngest German winner in Challenger history.
“Every title is a big one, especially my first Challenger,” said Engel, the first player born in 2007 to triumph on the Challenger Tour. “Cina is a big player and I knew before the match it was going to be a tough match. This win makes it even better and I’m really happy.”
Youngest combined ATP Challenger Tour finals since 2000
| Year | Tournament | Winner | Runner-Up |
| 2003 | Hamburg | Mario Ancic (18 years, 10 months) | Rafael Nadal (16 years, seven months) |
| 2025 | Hamburg | Justin Engel (18 years, 25 days) | Federico Cina (18 years, six months) |
| 2000 | Montevideo | Guillermo Coria (18 years, 10 months) | Jose Acasuso (18 years, 29 days) |
The fourth-seeded Engel held his nerve in pressure moments throughout the week, winning all seven tie-breaks which he contested. Following his title run, Engel jumped three spots to ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He is aiming for his maiden trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
Kypson, 25, won his third Challenger title of the season and sixth overall with a gutsy final performance at the MarketBeat Open in South Dakota. Kypson edged Briton Johannus Monday 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 7-5 in the final. The American saved all six break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and earned a decisive break at 5-5 in the third set when Monday committed his lone double fault of the match.
“I think the margins were so thin today and you could only chalk it up to continuing to do what you were doing throughout the match,” said Kypson. “At the end of the day, luck plays a little bit of a role and I stuck to what I was doing and ultimately I was able to save those break points and come out on top.”
<img alt=”Patrick Kypson wins the MarketBeat Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 100 event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/27/13/05/kypson-siouxfallsch-2025.jpg” />
Patrick Kypson wins the ATP Challenger Tour 100 event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Credit: Jason Harris/MarketBeatOpen
From mid-January to mid-April, Kypson was sidelined with a stress fracture in his left foot and as a result, he fell as low as No. 455 in the PIF ATP Rankings during that span. Kypson is now No. 146 and closing in on his career-high No. 133, which he reached in April 2024. The United States leads all countries with 20 Challenger titles this season, with second-placed France just one behind.
“We have a lot of guys ranked between the Top 100 and 200, young guys, a
couple of veterans in there,” said Kypson. “We have a pretty strong group of guys right now and we are all trying to push each other to get into the Top 100. It’s pretty impressive to win 20 titles in a season.”
Kypson is the third American since 1978 to win a Challenger title on clay, outdoor hard and indoor hard in the same season, alongside Robby Ginepri (2002) and Michael Russell (2009).
Nishioka returns to winner’s circle:
Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka capped a dominant week at the Suzhou Challenger 2025, where he did not drop a set across five matches to lift his seventh title at that level. The top seed ousted Frenchman Harold Mayot 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Nishioka, former No. 24, was playing just his fourth event at Challenger level this season.
<img alt=”Yoshihito Nishioka in action at the Suzhou Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/27/13/11/nishioka-suzhouch-2025.jpg” />
Yoshihito Nishioka in action at the Suzhou Challenger. Credit: Suzhou Challenger 2025
Burruchaga charging towards Top 100 with latest title:
Roman Andres Burruchaga inched closer to making his Top 100 debut with his triumph at the Costa do Sauipe Open in Brazil. Burruchaga ended Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s nine-match winning streak in the final, spoiling the Paraguayan’s quest for a second consecutive title with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory. The Argentine is up to a career-high No. 106 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
<img alt=”Roman Andres Burruchaga at the Costa do Sauipe Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/27/13/18/burruchaga-costadosauipech-2025.jpg” />
Roman Andres Burruchaga wins the Costa do Sauipe Challenger. Credit: João Pires
Gaston goes the distance at home
French lefty Hugo Gaston continued his run of form at the indoor events on home soil. The 25-year-old had reached the final at the Rennes and Roanne Challengers in the past month, yet went one step further at the Brest Open Groupe Vert to capture his sixth Challenger title. Gaston beat American Eliot Spizzirri 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the final.
“It was a very complicated match, under constant pressure,” Gaston said. “I tried to hang on at the start of the second, and as time went on I managed to put my game together. I stayed in the match from start to finish. I’m really happy to have won this tournament. I still had some doubts, but I didn’t give up.”
<img alt=”Hugo Gaston celebrates winning the Brest Challenger. Credit: Benjamin Croizet” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/10/27/13/13/gaston-brestch-2025.jpg” />
Hugo Gaston celebrates winning the Brest Challenger. Credit: Benjamin Croizet