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, 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 Gaza war.

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).

Finals

Singles

YearChampionsRunners-upScore
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1978Netherlands Tom OkkerAustria Peter Feigl6-7, 6-4, 6-2
↓ Grand Prix event ↓
1979Netherlands Tom OkkerSweden Per Hjertquist6–4, 6–3
1980United States Harold SolomonIsrael Shlomo Glickstein6–2, 6–3
1981United States Mel PurcellSweden Per Hjertquist6–1, 6–1
1982Not held due to the 1982 Lebanon War
1983United States Aaron KricksteinWest Germany Christoph Zipf7–6, 6–3
1984United States Aaron KricksteinIsrael Shahar Perkiss6–4, 6–1
1985United States Brad GilbertIsrael Amos Mansdorf6–3, 6–2
1986United States Brad GilbertUnited States Aaron Krickstein7–5, 6–2
1987Israel Amos MansdorfUnited States Brad Gilbert3–6, 6–3, 6–4
1988United States Brad GilbertUnited States Aaron Krickstein4–6, 7–6, 6–2
1989United States Jimmy ConnorsIsrael Gilad Bloom2–6, 6–2, 6–1
↓ ATP World Series event ↓
1990Soviet Union Andrei ChesnokovIsrael Amos Mansdorf6–4, 6–3
1991Mexico Leonardo LavalleSouth Africa Christo van Rensburg6–2, 3–6, 6–3
1992United States Jeff TarangoFrance Stephane Simian4–6, 6–3, 6–4
1993Italy Stefano PescosolidoIsrael Amos Mansdorf7–6, 7–5
1994South Africa Wayne FerreiraIsrael Amos Mansdorf7–6, 6–3
1995Slovakia Ján KrošlákSpain Javier Sánchez6–3, 6–4
1996Spain Javier SánchezSouth Africa Marcos Ondruska6–4, 7–5
1997Not held
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1998Italy Gianluca PozziIsrael Lior Mor6–1, 6–7, 6–3
1999Czech Republic Ctislav DosedělIsrael Noam Okun7–6, 6–3
2000–2021Not held; return cancelled due to 2014 Gaza War
↓ ATP Tour 250 event ↓
2022Serbia Novak DjokovicCroatia Marin Čilić6–3, 6–4
2023Not held due to Gaza war

Doubles

YearChampionsRunners-upScore
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1978Austria Peter Feigl United States Eric FriedlerUnited States Mike Fishbach Netherlands Tom Okker6-3, 6-7, 6-3
↓ Grand Prix event ↓
1979Romania Ilie Năstase Netherlands Tom OkkerUnited States Mike Cahill Australia Colin Dibley7–5, 6–4
1980Sweden Per Hjertquist Israel Steve KrulevitzUnited States Eric Fromm United States Cary Leeds7–6, 6–3
1981United States Steve Meister United States Van WinitskyUnited Kingdom John Feaver United States Steve Krulevitz3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1982Not held due to the 1982 Lebanon War
1983United Kingdom Colin Dowdeswell Hungary Zoltán KuhárszkyWest Germany Peter Elter Austria Peter Feigl6–3, 7–5
1984Australia Peter Doohan South Africa Brian LevineUnited Kingdom Colin Dowdeswell Switzerland Jakob Hlasek6–3, 6–4
1985United States Brad Gilbert Romania Ilie NăstaseSouth Africa Michael Robertson Romania Florin Segărceanu6–3, 6–2
1986United States John Letts Sweden Peter LundgrenSouth Africa Christo Steyn South Africa Danie Visser6–3, 3–6, 6–3
1987Israel Gilad Bloom Israel Shahar PerkissWest Germany Wolfgang Popp Netherlands Huub van Boeckel6–2, 6–4
1988The Bahamas Roger Smith Kenya Paul WekesaWest Germany Patrick Baur West Germany Alexander Mronz6–3, 6–3
1989United Kingdom Jeremy Bates West Germany Patrick BaurSweden Rikard Bergh Sweden Per Henricsson6–1, 4–6, 6–1
↓ ATP World Series event ↓
1990Nigeria Nduka Odizor South Africa Christo van RensburgSweden Ronnie Båthman Sweden Rikard Bergh6–3, 6–4
1991Czechoslovakia David Rikl Netherlands Michiel SchapersArgentina Javier Frana Mexico Leonardo Lavalle6–2, 6–7, 6–3
1992United States Mike Bauer Portugal João Cunha SilvaNetherlands Mark Koevermans Sweden Tobias Svantesson6–3, 6–4
1993Spain Sergio Casal Spain Emilio SánchezUnited States Mike Bauer Czech Republic David Rikl6–4, 6–4
1994South Africa Lan Bale South Africa John-Laffnie de JagerSweden Jan Apell Sweden Jonas Björkman6–7, 6–2, 7–6
1995United States Jim Grabb United States Jared PalmerUnited States Kent Kinnear United States David Wheaton6–4, 7–5
1996South Africa Marcos Ondruska South Africa Grant StaffordIsrael Noam Behr Israel Eyal Erlich6–3, 6–2
1997Not held
↓ ATP Challenger Series event ↓
1998Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek Czech Republic Michal TabaraIsrael Noam Okun Israel Nir Welgreen7–6, 6–3
1999Israel Noam Behr Israel Eyal RanIsrael Amir Hadad Australia Andrew Ilie6–3, 6–2
2000–2021Not held; return cancelled due to 2014 Gaza War
↓ ATP Tour 250 event ↓
2022India Rohan Bopanna Netherlands Matwé MiddelkoopMexico Santiago González Argentina Andrés Molteni6–2, 6–4
2023Not held due to Gaza war

External links