St. Petersburg Open Tournament

General information

The tournament is held only for men in St. Petersburg. Tennis players from all countries take part in the competition. The first competition was held in 1995. The prize fund today is about $ 1 million. The tournament grid is designed for 16 pairs and 28 athletes in singles.

Venue

All matches are held at the Sibur Arena sports complex (Saint Petersburg). The arena of the sports complex accommodates more than 7000 spectators. Competitions in a variety of sports and entertainment events are held here, for example, concerts, exhibitions, spectacular performances.
Sibur Arena is located at 8 Football Alley.

The courts

At all sites have a hard surface. Athletes play in indoor stadiums. The central court is equipped with a video replay system called «Hawkeye».

History

In 1995, St. Petersburg organizers were able to obtain a license to hold tennis tournaments. All meetings were held at the St. Petersburg CCM. The first matches were held in March, then all competitions were postponed to February, and in 2002 — to September. The competition is held every year, with the exception of 2014. Then the organizers moved the competition to Israel, but the matches never took place due to the unstable situation in the country. Since 2015, the games have been held in the Sibur Arena complex. And Gazprom became the general partner of the event.

Winners and finalists

For 20 years, 17 different athletes have won in singles. So far, no one has managed to win the grand prize more than twice. Marat Safin (Russian tennis player), Thomas Johansson (Swedish athlete) and Andrew (Andy) Marei (British player) have twice climbed to the first step of the podium.
In doubles, the leader is Nenad Zimonjic, a representative of Serbia. He has three titles to his credit.
There are also such athletes who have distinguished themselves both in doubles and singles. One of them is Evgeny Kafelnikov. In the first year he excelled in singles, and the next year he received the doubles title.
2016 was a turning point for the history of the St. Petersburg Open tournament. Women’s matches were held for the first time.

Additional services of the sports complex

Comfort lovers are offered lodges in VIP areas. One box accommodates 8 people. The menu for the honored guests is developed by Matteo Guida, the famous chef of the Four Seasons Hotel. An unusual combination of ingredients, an interesting design of dishes, always fresh products, an informal but professional approach to business – all this is the «highlight» of the institution.