“There is nothing official, but if it can no longer take place in Antwerp, we hope to stay in Belgium”said Ilse Van Parijs, wife of tournament director Dick Norman and co-director of the only Belgian ATP 250 in the Dutch-speaking press. “I can confirm that the contract is indeed expiring. We are currently exploring various options. Stay in Antwerp? There are discussions, but it is true that, given the work in progress and to come, we come up against certain limits for such an organization. If not in Antwerp, we hope to be able to organize the tournament in Belgium. Tennis remains popular in our country and a tournament of this caliber has its place in Belgium. Fan interest also continues to increase. The Lotto Arena is almost full on Saturday and Sunday.”
As a reminder, the European Open belongs to the company Tennium, founded by our compatriot Kristoff Puelinckx in collaboration with the former French player Sébastien Grosjean. Tennium organizes tournaments around the world and if no solution is found, the Antwerp tournament, already on the 2025 ATP calendar, could find a new home base outside Belgium. Which would be a real loss. Since its creation, the European Open has received enormous financial and organizational support from the City of Antwerp and it will not be easy to find such significant support in Belgium in a city with a venue capable of hosting such an event. To be continued…
