The stars of the future are in the Challenger circuit; it is very easy to be close to them

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There are few better feelings in the world of tennis than being close to the action. Living firsthand the components that surround this sport generates in the fan a mix of emotions that will hardly be forgotten. Obviously, being close to the players becomes much more complicated in the major tournaments, where access filters and restrictions multiply in favor of security. If you want to find a good mix of quality and proximity, look no further: the ATP Challenger Tour is your place, and tournaments like the Challenger in Bratislava are your home.

Seeing a young star right next to their coach. Stopping any player freely and having a brief chat with them. Living just meters away from the warm-up of any player who is about to step onto the court. These and many more privileges are perfectly accessible to the fan who witnesses the second tier of tennis, a place where stars of tomorrow, of the past, journeymen with unforgettable stories, cracks in search of confidence, and ultimately, a mix of nationalities, stories, and characters that add a unique and singular appeal to each event. Apart from the top level, yes, these tournaments present added difficulties in their organization: the profit margin is slim (and sometimes non-existent), and sometimes they become a sentimental treasure worth digging in your wallet for.

Few voices are more authorized to talk about this than that of Branislav Stankovic (May 30, 1965, Piest'any, former Czechoslovakia), a guy seasoned in a thousand battles, former top-100 in the world rankings and now director of the Challenger in Bratislava. At the TK Slovan in Bratislava (with a shield practically identical to the city's football club, competing this year in the Champions League), tennis is breathed from all sides: during the tournament week, names like Marian Vajda (one of the event organizers) or Miloslav Mecir pass by, but it is Stankovic who is the visible face of a well-functioning mechanism. The human warmth and the intimate club where it takes place take us back to other times, distant times when the pharaonic constructions of Academies were projections and what reigned was the social aspect of tennis clubs.

To attend the Challenger in Bratislava, you don't have to pay an entrance fee. It is completely free. The stands fill up when a Slovak competes, and the top floor of the main building of the club accommodates the tournament's sponsors, a fundamental engine for its economic sustainability. Hosting a tournament like this is not easy, but the experience precedes Stankovic: in a country like Slovakia, which wants to compete against other European powers and does not enjoy ATP tournaments, events like these are vital to grow tennis in this country.

"Doing this in Bratislava means doing something different compared to the past. I have been organizing this Challenger for the last 21 years, but in the past, we were in eastern Slovakia, in Kosice; from there, we moved to the city of Poprad Tatry. However, the main sponsors are here, in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, so they asked us to organize the tournament here. This is my club, where I grew up, of which I am also a member of the Council, so it's great to be able to organize a tournament at home. It is a bit different from the past when we held the tournament in smaller cities: now everything is a bit bigger, we increase the prize money and the ATP category... it's not easy, but it works, and we are very happy to reach 21 years as a tournament," proudly states Branislav.

THE DATE, ANOTHER PUZZLE FOR THE CHALLENGER CIRCUIT

Organizing a tournament within a category that hosts over 200 events is not an easy task. Finding the ideal date, taking into account factors such as competition, weather, time of year, or players' willingness to compete, sometimes becomes a real puzzle. In the case of the Slovak tournament, it is held the week after Roland Garros, in a week when there are already grass tournaments where all surfaces are present on the calendar. It is then, of course, when the clear target of this tournament is established.

"Formerly it was played a week later, but there was an open slot to organize a Challenger 100 a week earlier, so Marian (Vajda) and I talked to the ATP Council and they gave us this date. Players who are not so comfortable on grass choose to play here, especially Spaniards, Portuguese, Argentinians; they prefer to play on clay. We always ask them if they want to come, we try to make them feel our hospitality, give them a magnificent atmosphere, that is what I always try to achieve."

Building a relationship of trust with the players is another key point for the sustainability of the tournament. According to Stankovic himself, having them return to Bratislava years later is one of the most satisfying feelings as a tournament director. "The best thing is when a player comes to play, tells you they feel great… and comes back the next year. That is a fantastic feeling. Also, many former players of my generation return as coaches: there were many of them I hadn't seen in quite some time, and when you see them, you say: 'Wow!' (smiles and makes a hugging gesture). Then you have a glass of wine with them and it's fantastic (smiles)."

RUUD, A SPECIAL TALENT

Throughout its 21 years of experience, a multitude of stars have paraded through the Central European country. Although it is difficult to highlight one of them, Stankovic rewinds and remembers a young blond, unkempt-looking, gentlemanly character, arriving in Poprad Tatry and winning the hearts of the tournament. "I remember that when the tournament was played in Poprad Tatry, Casper (Ruud) arrived in the city five days before the tournament started. No one knew him, he was a short guy, he came with his mother. He was very kind, from the first day he asked us for places to train, always very cordial. He told us that the tournament was played in a small but very good club, that the atmosphere in Poprad was fantastic.

He arrived, trained… at that moment I saw that he was putting in a lot of work and great effort to become a professional. How to say, he was incredibly nice, kind. Now I see him reaching Grand Slam finals, and I remind everyone that Casper came to Poprad, that he lost in the second round after defeating Lukas Klein in the first round. It's great to see how the players who passed through the Challenger circuit now display top-level tennis."

And that, my friends, is the main attraction that tournaments of this circuit offer: the ability to be close not only to top-level tennis but to players you will see in a few years on your television battling for the most important tournaments in the world. "To the audience, I would only say this: the future stars are here. It is very cheap to see them, it is very easy to be close to them: when they become big stars, it will be much harder to access them, it will be much harder to get to know them, and it will cost a lot more money. This tournament, for example, is open and free: imagine being able to see the future stars for free. Maybe you'll see another Casper Ruud, maybe you'll see another Carlos Alcaraz."

MEMORIES OF TENNIS IN THE 80s, PAST TIMES

Beyond his role as an organizer, Branislav Stankovic experienced firsthand the boom of Czechoslovak tennis. Before the split, the current tournament director reached the top-100, won a match at Wimbledon, conquered an ATP tournament in doubles, and represented his now-extinct country in the Davis Cup. Remembering those times brings a smile from ear to ear to him: "In the times when we were Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak school had great names. Most players were Czech, but in the '80s, we also had names like Marian Vajda, Miloslav Mecir, even me, the three of us were top-100. We won championships for Czechoslovakia, and that's when Slovak tennis began to grow. Later, a great generation arrived with players like Karol Kucera, Dominik Hrbaty, Karol Beck or Jan Kroslak; they were fantastic times with a group that reached a Davis Cup final. Today, we don't have players in the top-100, but we have very good players. Our generation is back, we are trying to work with the juniors, trying to help them grow so that Slovak tennis grows stronger."

And to conclude, nothing better than testing those two generations of which Stankovic has been a part. He experienced one of them from within, in the locker room; he is now living the other from the other side, trying to make the lives of those who are now part of that locker room better... and his final reflection when comparing those eras, believe me, is worth it and highlights the differences that also exist, why not, between both societies.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "Las estrellas del futuro están en los Challenger, es muy fácil ser cercano a ellas"