GUIA DE ISORA/STARNBERG, February 2, 2026

The victory of Gabriele Piraino and Andrea Colombo’s qualification for the main draw got the Italian campaign off to a positive start at Tenerife Challenger 1. On the day that opened the main draw and concluded the qualifying event, two Italian players celebrated wins on the hard courts of the Abama Tennis Academy.

Sicilian Piraino advanced to the second round of the ATP Challenger 75 tournament organized by MEF Tennis Events after defeating Alibek Kachmazov 7-6(2), 6-7(3), 6-2. Just as significant, in his own way, was the first-ever Challenger qualification for 23-year-old Colombo, who earned a big personal milestone by beating Spain’s Bruno Pujol Navarro 4-6, 6-4, 3-0.

There was no such joy on the Abama Arena for Jacopo Berrettini, who was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Jordan’s Abdullah Shelbayh, a young player with great potential who will be looking to take a step forward after a 2025 that fell short of expectations.

Vasamì: “Happy to restart from Tenerife”

Meanwhile, with a new coach and new ambitions, Jacopo Vasamì is ready to open his 2026 season. After a long preparation period, the 18-year-old Rome native will start against US-American Dali Blanch, who came through qualifying as the top seed. Following an encouraging 2025 – highlighted by a Top 5 junior ranking, victory at the Trofeo Bonfiglio, and his first Challenger-level wins – Vasamì has chosen former world No. 144 Filippo Baldi as his new coach.

“I had a long and intense preparation, and I’m happy to start the season in a wonderful place like Tenerife,” said Vasamì, currently No. 661 in the world and in the draw thanks to a wild card. “Last year I went through the transition to the professional circuit; this year I’ll play many more Challengers. My goal is to improve—the level is higher and it’s a completely different world from juniors. I’m making a lot of changes to compete on equal terms with more experienced opponents.”

On the Italian front, Tuesday will also see the debut of top seed Francesco Maestrelli against France’s Mathys Erhard. Third seed Stefano Travaglia will face Sergey Fomin, while fourth seed Lorenzo Giustino will take on qualifier Izan Almazan Valiente.

Piraino off to a strong start

After an important season that took him to a career-high ranking of world No. 341 at the start of the year, Gabriele Piraino arrived in Tenerife aiming to do well. Now ranked No. 362, the Sicilian opened his campaign with a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-7(3), 6-2 win over Kachmazov. Coached by Paolo Cannova – longtime coach of Salvatore Caruso – and Daniele Capecchi, who is with him on the largest of the Canary Islands, Piraino commented on his first Challenger win of the year:

“It was a really tough match, and I hadn’t played on hard courts for a long time. The first ITF tournaments of 2026 didn’t go the way I wanted, so I’m happy I managed to raise my level in the third set and get the win today.”

In the second round he will face the winner of the match between Fomin and Travaglia. In the case of an all-Italian derby, it would be an important test to measure his progress. “The last two years have been crucial for my development. I’ve worked a lot with Paolo Cannova and Daniele Capecchi. I’m sure that at the beginning of last year I would have lost a match like this. My ranking isn’t perfect, but I’ve made real progress.”

MONDAY RESULTS

Singles – First round
Abdullah Shelbayh d. Jacopo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2
Pablo Llamas Ruiz (6) d. Benjamin Willwerth (JR) 6-2, 6-2
Gabriele Piraino d. Alibek Kachmazov 7-6(2), 6-7(3), 6-2

Qualifying – Final Round
Dali Blanch (1) d. Benjamin Winter Lopez (9) 7-6(4), 6-3
Izan Almazan Valiente (7) d. Flip Peliwo (2) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Thomas Faurel (3) d. Filip Pieczonka (8) 6-3, 6-2
Alejo Sanchez Quilez (4) d. Mario Mansilla Diez 7-6(5), 6-1
Iiro Vasa d. Oscar Weightman (5) 6-1, 6-4
Andrea Colombo (11) d. Bruno Pujol Navarro (WC) 4-6, 6-4, 3-0

Order of Play | Tuesday February 3rd ️#tennis #TenerifeChallenger #ATPChallenger #Tenerife #TenerifeDespiertaEmociones pic.twitter.com/ksmhvCC7MR

— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) February 2, 2026