Every season, the European Open is held at the Lotto Arena - a 5,200-person indoor venue. The European Open is the only current ATP-level competition held in Belgium. As a result, it is the largest and most prestigious tennis event in the nation.
Former Top 10 ATP player Dick Norman is the current tournament director. In 2016, the first edition of the tournament took place at Lotto Arena. Since then, it has grown into a popular modern tournament for fans and players.
As a 250-level competition, a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles event take place. Every season, the tournament takes place over one week, usually in October. Several world-renowned players have flocked to Antwerp in recent years to participate in the European Open.
The first-ever winner was French player Richard Gasquet, who defeated Diego Schwartzman in the 2016 final. One year later, Schwartzman felt heartbreak again to another French star as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga emerged victorious at the 2017 final.
Plenty of top-quality players have competed in the following European Open main draws. Three-time Grand Slam winner, Andy Murray, faced off against Stan Wawrinka in the 2019 final, with the Brit winning across three sets.
Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner was also successful in 2021 as the usual suspect Schwartzman fell at the final hurdle for a third time. Plenty of top doubles pairs have played at the European Open finals, too.
The 2016 event saw Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin best the all-French duo of Pierre-Hugues Herbert France Nicolas Mahut. In 2023, there was also a sibling title win as the Greek team of Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas won the event. The Tsitsipas brothers beat Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek in a thrilling three-set final.
