ISLAMABAD/STARNBERG, November 27, 2025
The final week of the 2025 ATP Challenger Tour is underway and in Asia the season concludes with the inaugural Challenger Cup Pakistan. It marks the first time that the city of Islamabad hosts an ATP Challenger Tour event.
However, what stands out is the remarkably low entry level of the player field: World No. 1,784 Zach Stephens of Great Britain gained direct access to the main draw. In addition, only three players in the entire $60,000 hard-court tournament are ranked inside the top 300, with Elias Ymer from Sweden being the clear favorite for the title.
“Our focus is to hold this event successfully, this is [only] beginning. Next year, we will hold another event with bigger prize money, which will attract higher-ranked players,” said Asiam-ul-Haq Qureshi, president of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), quoted by Pakistani e-paper “Dawn”.
The local favourites, meanwhile, had a great opportunity to showcase themselves on the international stage and go hunting for valuable ATP Ranking points. Five home players were in the main draw – with Muzanmil Murtaza advancing to the second round.
“Our local wild card entrants have a great chance to improve their [international] ranking. All of them are experienced players who have displayed impressive performances over the years in various national and international events,” said 45-year-old Qureshi, who used the Challenger debut in Islamabad as an opportunity to return to the court once again. Alongside Murtaza the pair advanced to the semi-finals of the doubles competition.
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In singles, the international players dominated the action. Six of the top eight seeds have reached the quarterfinals. No. 1 seed Ymer will take on sixth-seeded Turkish Mert Alkaya. In the bottom half of the draw, Briton Jay Clarke will face fifth favourite Vadym Ursu of Ukraine for a spot in the semis.
Denis Yevseyev from Kazakhstan, Swiss Johan Nikles, Dominik Palan of the Czech Republic and earlier mentioned Zach Stephens round out the final eight players.
