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
|