What you have to know

The 15th edition of Pekao Open is held from 15th to 23rd September on clay courts situated in 127 Wojska Polskiego Str., Szczecin. The tournament lasts for 9 days, including two days of qualifying matches.

The tournament has been organized since 1993. At first it was a satellite cycle with a prize pool of 25000 USD. In 1996 the tournament was turned into a challenger.

The tournament is a licensed event of International Tennis Association ATP.

Since 1997 Pekao Open has had the rank of 150 000 USD (the prize pool of 125 000 USD + hospitality).

The main sponsor for the tournament is Bank Pekao S.A.

There are 64 tennis players competing in the tournament: 32 tennis players fight in qualifying matches to win one of 4 places in the main tournament. There are 32 tennis players competing in the main tournament (including 4 wild cards). There are also 16 doubles teams (including wild cards).

In the event, the most important are ATP classification point, which the competitors receive for progressing through to the next rounds. The further in the tournament, the more points and higher prize one can win.

Prize pool - USD 125 000 (EUR 106 250)

The supervisor of this year’s Pekao Open edition is a Carlos Sanches.

Grzegorz Bargielski is the director, with his vice-director Krzysztof Bobala.

The competitors and guests of the tournament are accommodated in Radisson SAS Hotel , which is the official hotel of the tournament, and one of the most important sponsors.

It is an event of unusual sports level as for its rank, comparable with respect to 400 000 - 500 000 USD events . Since 1999, Pekao Open Tournament has been acknowledged the best tennis event of challenger rank in the world. In 2002 , during Masters Series in Paris, the tournament was granted the Challenger Award prize for the best challenger out of 102 being held.

Pekao Open 2002 was recognized the best sports event of Poland in the 68th Przegląd Sportowy Poll to choose the best ten Polish sportsmen, coach, sports club and event of the year.

In the last three years the tournament was visited by approximately 20 000-25 000 spectators each year.

All the national media attend the tournament (including visitors from Scandinavia, Italy or Germany). Every year about a 100 journalists and reporters for Polish TV stations, the most important dailies and broadcasting stations are accredited to the tournament.

The tournament website www.pekaoopen.pl was visited 100 000 times during last year's Pekao Open.
 
The main organizer of the tournament is Foundation for Sport Promotion "Promasters".