Challenger 100 Moldova concluded on the courts of the National Tennis Center. The Open is the largest professional tennis tournament in the history of independent Moldova.
Seven days, dozens of matches, athletes from more than twenty countries, thousands of spectators in the stands, and the main result: Moldova convincingly established itself as a country capable of hosting international competitions.
A year ago, Moldova The Open debuted on the ATP Challenger calendar. The Tour was a Challenger 50 tournament . In 2026, the competition was upgraded to Challenger 100 status, and the venue became the new National Tennis Center—a state-of-the-art tennis complex, the construction of which was one of the most ambitious sporting projects in recent years in the country.
Challenger players came to Chisinau. Tour , former Grand Slam tournament participants, ATP title holders and young tennis players confidently rising to the top of the world rankings.
Radu Albot’s performance was especially significant . The leader of Moldovan tennis once again proved why his name has long been a symbol of the sport in the country.
On his way to the semifinals, Albot recorded several impressive victories, and his match against Timofey Skatov became one of the most emotional encounters of the tournament. After losing the first set, Radu managed to turn the match around and give the crowd one of the most memorable victories of the week. In the semifinals, the Moldovan tennis player lost to eventual finalist Cesare Kretsu , however, left the court to prolonged applause from the spectators.
Cesare became a separate story of the tournament Cretu . Starting the competition in qualifying, he won six matches in a row and reached the final. As the week progressed, Cretu became one of the tournament’s most consistent players and finished the competition as the leader in the number of games won on serve. His performance was one of Moldova’s biggest revelations. Open Challenger 100.
The second finalist was 21-year-old Greek Stefanos Sakellaridis , the young Greek, demonstrated modern, aggressive tennis throughout the week, confidently served, and finished the tournament as the leader in aces served , with 20 in five matches.
Creța won the first set after a tense tiebreak, but then Sakellaridis turned the tide, winning the next two sets to claim the Moldova Championship title. Open Challenger 100. Thus, it was the Greek tennis player who became the first winner of Moldova Open after the tournament was upgraded to the ATP Challenger 100 category.
The doubles competition was no less exciting. The winners were Americans George Goldhoff. and Theodore Vinegar , who demonstrated confident play throughout the week and deservedly lifted the championship trophy.
However, the main results of the tournament go far beyond the sporting results.
Throughout the week, players, coaches, referees, and ATP officials praised the level of competition organization, the quality of the courts, and the infrastructure of the new National Tennis Center. Many participants were pleasantly surprised to find that the official hotel is within walking distance of the complex, and all playing and training courts are located in one location.
The spectators created a special atmosphere at the tournament. Despite strong winds on some match days and challenging weather conditions, the stands regularly attracted large crowds. Interest in the competition was so high that the organizers decided to maintain free admission to a significant portion of the main draw matches, allowing as many people as possible to experience world-class professional tennis.
It is symbolic that almost simultaneously with the tournament, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) officially awarded the National Tennis Center of Moldova the ITF White status. Level Recognition until 2030. This further confirms the high level of the new infrastructure and is an important step for the further development of Moldovan tennis.
Moldova Open The Challenger 100 is over, but its significance for Moldovan sport will be felt for a long time to come. The tournament demonstrated that Moldova has all the conditions for hosting major international competitions, and the new National Tennis Center has the potential to become one of the region’s key tennis venues.
Tennis week is over. But judging by the atmosphere in the stands, the players’ comments, and the public’s interest, the history of Moldova Open is just beginning.
All photos of Challenger are here!
George Goldhoff and Theodore Winegar
Stefanos Sakellaridis
Cezar Crețu
Prizegiving ceremony
Stefanos with his coach
