![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/orleansch-venue.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Challenger
\n Orleans Challenger turns 20, celebrating blend of tennis, art and French cuisine<\/p>\n
Each day, a different chef works in the Orleans kitchen & every champion receives a painting<\/p>\n
September 26, 2025<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Co\u2019Met Orl\u00e9ans Open<\/p>\n
The Co\u2019Met Orl\u00e9ans Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 125 event, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week.
\n By Grant Thompson<\/p>\n
The Co\u2019Met Orl\u00e9ans Open<\/a> is more than just another stop on the ATP Challenger Tour, which last year boasted more than 200 events stretched across the globe.<\/p>\n \nCelebrating its 20th anniversary this week, the indoor hard-court event in Orleans has been a showcase of tennis, culture, and French tradition. This anniversary milestone reflects the tournament organisers\u2019 reputation for going above and beyond to provide a world-class experience for both players and fans.<\/p>\n \n\u201cI wish I was 20! But it\u2019s the tournament that is 20 years old,\u201d said tournament director Didier Gerard with a smile, speaking in French in a video posted on the Co\u2019Met Orl\u00e9ans Open YouTube channel<\/a>. \u201cI never thought I would do so many tournaments. It\u2019s so complicated to organise an event like this, but thanks to the team, we managed to put on a great tournament every year.\u201d<\/p>\n \nFrom the tournament\u2019s earliest days, Gerard envisioned something unique. Rather than simply staging a tennis competition, he sought to craft an event that left a lasting impression, with French gastronomy woven into the tournament. Each day, a renowned chef steps into the kitchens to prepare top-quality meals for players and patrons. Among the distinguished culinary figures this week include Bernard Vaussion \u2014 a former executive chef of the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace \u2014 who cooked for six French presidents across four decades.<\/p>\n \nNo wonder nearly 26,000 spectators flock to the Co\u2019Met Orl\u00e9ans Open each year. Yet the fan-favourite event was not without its early growing pains, according to Gerard.<\/p>\n \n\u201c[In 2005], on the first day at 2 p.m. when I went to see my wife, S\u00e9verine, I told her that the tournament isn\u2019t going to work,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIn my head, I didn\u2019t think I would even manage to complete the tournament at the end of the week because the boat was taking in so much water. Everything wasn\u2019t going well even though I thought I had prepared everything in advance, but an event is completely different when you manage it than when you were a tennis player.<\/p>\n \n\u201cAnother memory that I like is on the final Sunday evening when my first partners told me, \u2018It was great, can\u2019t wait for next year!\u2019 So I had water and fire in the same week.\u201d<\/p>\n \nAdditionally, art has also been central to the tournament\u2019s unique identity. Instead of a traditional trophy, every champion receives a painting commissioned from a local artist. Gerard was determined to create a prize that would not be forgotten and stored away in a dusty trophy cabinet. <\/p>\n Jubilation for @jakefearnley01<\/a> \ud83c\udf89\ud83c\udfc6#ATPChallenger<\/a> | @the_LTA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QEbz1CNWu3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 29, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n \nOriginally staged at the vintage Palais des Sports, with its 1970s charm, the Orleans Challenger moved locations in 2023. The Challenger 125 event, for which former No. 4 Sebastien Grosjean<\/a> is a tournament ambassador, is now staged at the modern Arena Co’Met.<\/p>\n \nThe Orleans Challenger has routinely welcomed an impressive roster of stars, including World No. 2 Jannik Sinner<\/a>, who competed there as an 18-year-old ranked No. 128 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2019. Jack Draper<\/a> was a finalist in Orleans in 2023. Daniil Medvedev<\/a> reached the Orleans quarter-finals in 2016, the same year that Andrey Rublev<\/a> made a semi-final run as a lucky loser. Home favourites Richard Gasquet<\/a>, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga<\/a> and Ugo Humbert<\/a> have filled the stands.<\/p>\n \nIn 2010, a memorable championship match took place between Nicolas Mahut<\/a> and Grigor Dimitrov<\/a>, the Bulgarian who was 19 years old at the time. Mahut saved a championship point and eventually won in a deciding-set tie-break.<\/p>\n \nBeyond thrilling matches like that 2010 final, the Co\u2019Met Orl\u00e9ans Open has carried a unique identity that has impressed players for the past two decades.<\/p>\n \n\u201cInevitably, when the players come here to Orleans, they think they are at an ATP 250 or even 500,\u201d said Gerard. \u201cAs [Denis] Shapovalov said last year, \u2018Minimum 250\u2019. And David Goffin<\/a>, a former champion and former Top 10 player who is used to the biggest venues in the world, told us that it was the level of an ATP 500.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n