CURITIBA/STARNBERG, September 26, 2025

The third edition of the Copa Internacional de Tenis de Curitiba, an ATP Challenger 75 event, has officially confirmed its entry list and will feature three players ranked inside the world’s Top 100. The clay-court tournament will be held from 13–19 October at the prestigious Graciosa Country Club in the capital of Paraná.

Leading the main draw are Juan Manuel Cerundolo (No. 71 ATP) from Argentina, Emilio Nava (No. 90) from the United States and Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante (No. 99). Brazil will be represented by Thiago Wild, Thiago Monteiro and Joao Lucas Reis among the 32 direct entrants.

Curitiba will host the 18th Challenger tournament of the season in South America and the fifth in Brazil. Among the top favorites is Emilio Nava, the only player to capture three Challenger titles on the continent in 2025 — Assuncao (CH100), Concepcion (CH75) and Villa Maria (CH75). Coached by Argentine Diego Cristin, the US-American has won six Challenger titles in his career, all on clay. In 2025 he compiled a 19-match winning streak on the surface, a run that propelled him into the Top 100 and tied him with Borna Coric as the ATP season leader in Challenger titles (four each). Despite his clay success, Nava spent four years training at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Spain and says he actually prefers hard courts.

For Brazil, there’s also good news with the return of Gustavo Heide, a former Top 150 player who has been sidelined since February with a back injury. The Sao Paulo native reached the final of the M25 event in Londrina last week and will play the qualifying in Curitiba, where he reached the semifinals in 2024.

“I’m fully recovered and physically at 100 per cent. Now I just need matches to regain rhythm and toughness, which only comes with time,” Heide said. “I went almost seven months without tournaments. I know it will be difficult to defend the semifinal in Curitiba, but it’s a place I love playing, a great club — and most importantly, I’m happy to be back and competing in all these tournaments in Brazil.”

Past Champions – Singles:
2023 – Hugo Dellien (BOL)
2024 – Jaime Faria (POR)

Past Champions – Doubles:
2023 – Guido Andreozzi (ARG) / Ignacio Carou (URU)
2024 – Fernando Romboli (BRA) / Matias Soto (CHI)