ATP Challenger Tour: Premiere for Sauerland Open - "Idea has matured for a long time"
The Challenger tournament landscape in Germany has a new member. The first edition of the Sauerland Open will take place in Lüdenscheid from August 14th to 22nd.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Apr 28, 2021, 05:26 pm
Rogier Wassen is responsible for the sandpit event. The 44-year-old Dutchman is still well known to tennis fans as a world-class player on the ATP tour.
"The idea of doing something again in tennis has matured in me for a long time," said Wassen in the current edition of the tennis podcast Challenger Corner . “Until 2011 I was still actively on the tour myself. Then I looked after Andre Begemann as a coach, which was a lot of fun. However, traveling with two small children is difficult to combine with family life. When Andre organized the International Premier League last year, I had the idea of being able to host a tennis tournament as well. "
Three years of Challenger tennis
Various options were then discussed with his former coach Geert Quaedvlieg. From an ITF World Tennis Tour event to acquiring a one-year license on the ATP Tour, everything was on the table. The result was the entry into the organizer scene with an ATP Challenger 80 tournament.
“I'm really up for it. Even in a Corona year, it is important to set an example ”, Wassen burns for the event, which will run until at least 2023, and is confident of being able to count on spectators at the facility again this summer. In this “best case scenario”, fans would also be offered a corresponding supporting program with Kids Day and other side events. Entertainer Oliver Pocher and actor Mark Keller have already been won over for a celebrity double on the Sunday of the final. Two more former tennis professionals will complete the show fight.
In terms of spectators, the Dutchman also likes to cross the border and could well imagine welcoming one or two compatriots to the tournament. Due to the unsafe situation due to the pandemic, however, there is a two-pronged approach. “The tournament will take place in any case,” emphasizes Wassen, if necessary as a “ghost event”.
Lüdenscheid as the ideal venue
The North Rhine-Westphalian district town of Lüdenscheid with around 75,000 inhabitants is only 30 kilometers away from Wassen's home town of Olpe. “I played Westphalia League here and the Lüdenscheid tennis club is wonderfully located in a city park. There are seven outdoor and two indoor courts. A hotel is within walking distance ”, the former number 24 of the ATP double world rankings is enthusiastic about the local conditions.
Incidentally, Wassen celebrated the last of his five ATP tournament wins in doubles in 2010 in Metz, France. The partner at his side was then Dustin Brown. The German-Jamaican is also the first player name that Wassen can announce for the Sauerland Open. The tournament will mark the end of the European clay court season before the tennis circus moves across the pond to America.