CANBERRA/STARNBERG, January 10, 2026
The 2026 ATP Challenger season has got underway, and the young guns have wasted no time in making a strong impression at the very first tournament of the year. Alexander Blockx captured the title of the 10th edition of the Workday Canberra International.
The 20-year-old Belgian delivered a composed and assured performance to defeat Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday’s singles final of the $225,000 hard-court event held at the Canberra Tennis Centre. In the first meeting between the former Top 10 junior players, Blockx sent down five aces and won 77 per cent of his first-service points. The world No. 115 broke Jodar’s serve three times to seal victory in one hour and 23 minutes.
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Both players showcased their athleticism, shot-making and competitive maturity beyond their years throughout the week, thrilling the Canberra crowd and reinforcing the Workday Canberra International’s reputation as a launchpad for emerging stars. Blockx launched his campaign in style, defeating 19-year-old Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6–2, 6–3 in the first round. It was another convincing victory over Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, whom he had also beaten during his run to the final of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last December. Three hard-fought three-set victories over Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain, top seed Vit Kopriva from the Czech Republic and local wild card entry James McCabe followed.
By winning his fourth ATP Challenger Tour career crown, Blockx pocketed $33 650 in prize money as well as 125 ATP Ranking points. He will crack the Top 100 for the first time, raising to world No. 95 on Monday.
Jodar battled his way from the qualifying into the final, winning six matches in Canberra. The 19-year-old Madrid native, who lifted three trophies on the Challenger Tour last year, earned $19,700 in prize money as well as 75 ATP Ranking points. Jodar is also projected to reach a new career-high ranking of World No. 150.
Kiger/Stalder triumph in doubles
The doubles title was secured by US-American pairing Mac Kiger and Reese Stalder, an established ATP Challenger combination with multiple titles together on the international circuit. The duo delivered a composed and clinical performance to defeat Australians Blake Bayldon and Patrick Harper 7-6 6-3 in the championship match. They split a prize pool of $9,900 and collected 125 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
“This year’s Workday Canberra International has been a great success,” tournament director Lawrence Robertson said. “We have once again seen the event underpin its position as Canberra’s premier summer sporting event and we continue to uncover the next generation of superstars on both the men’s and women’s tours. Alongside of this, we also celebrate the very best of the Canberran tennis community off-court and throughout the week we have hosted Kids Tennis Day, Coaches Conferences, Women Leaders in Tennis and who can forget our very first winner of the 1 Point Slam, Yanping Yu who had an unforgettable day on court with Nick Kyrgios.
“We have seen over 12,000 through the gates and the event will have delivered over $2m worth into the local economy none of which would be possible without the support of our major partner Workday, our event partners and our incredible volunteers and ball crew who have helped deliver another week of world class tennis in the capital”.
