Cancún Country Open Returns With Elite Field and Homegrown Talent

Cancún, Quintana Roo — One of Mexico’s best-known destinations, Cancún has struggled for years to make a name for itself in the sports industry. Tennis is now helping change that. The city is hosting the second edition of the Cancún Country Open, an ATP Challenger 125 event that has drawn a surprisingly competitive field, including three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.

The Challenger circuit sits one step below the ATP Tour and rarely includes players ranked in the top 100. This year, however, the Cancún tournament registered six top-100 players, plus Wawrinka, who is playing his final season before retirement. That has raised expectations and put the young tournament in the spotlight.

“We’re getting a player list that is crazy for what a tournament of this category usually receives,” tournament director Daniel Langre told El Economista.

Langre, a former professional tennis player, runs the event with Paco Tarazona, also a former pro and co-founder. Both are Mexican and have spent years organizing tennis events. Their goal is to build a stronger tennis culture in Mexico and give national players a platform to earn ranking points beyond the ATP Tour.

“The Challenger circuit is very useful for building a professional tennis culture in Mexico, which doesn’t exist,” Langre said. “The ATP Tour events we have are mostly social, and for our players they are at a medium range that is unreachable, except for a Renata Zarazúa or a Rodrigo Pacheco, who can sometimes win a round or two.”

“Challengers are interesting because people realize that professional tennis already has high-level players we can enjoy from ranking 200 or 300, which is roughly the range where Mexican players have to fight for points if they ever want to enter the top 100. That’s kind of the focus.”

Uncertain future

Langre is candid that the tournament does not have a fixed long-term contract with the ATP Challenger Tour. There is even no certainty that a third edition will take place.

“Right now, our vision is basically short-term: to make this event surpass last year’s, which as a first edition we were super satisfied with,” he said. “There’s no signed contract for a certain number of years. What I can say is that a lot of people from the ATP are coming to evaluate us because they heard it was a very good tournament last year, but the 2027 edition is not confirmed yet.”

Langre said that is the nature of Challenger tournaments. The Cancún Country Open was born when a last-minute opening appeared in the 2025 calendar and the ATP offered the spot to Tarazona.

Keeping expectations measured, Langre said raising the more than $300,000 needed to operate the tournament was difficult. “I could say this initiative of Paco’s and mine is because we love tennis. It’s not political or business interests,” he said. “Of course we seek the support of brands and companies to make the event happen, because these tournaments cost a lot of money and we can barely gather enough to distribute prize money and treat players with the level they deserve.”

Attendance and expansion

Organizers did not release economic impact figures for the first edition, but Langre said around 8,200 people attended throughout the week. For 2026, the goal is to increase stadium and Grand Stand attendance by 32% at the Cancún Country Club, and expand the fan zone’s capacity by 40%.

“Last year, attendance was mostly local. This year we’re already seeing more interest from other parts of the country, especially because of the opportunity to come and say goodbye to one of the great legends of tennis, like Stan Wawrinka,” Langre said.

Mexico’s Challenger landscape

The Cancún Country Open is a 125-level tournament, the second-highest tier within the Challenger circuit, the same as the Mexico City Open. In total, Mexico is hosting six Challenger tournaments this year: additional 75-level events in Metepec, Cuernavaca and San Luis Potosí, plus another 125 in Morelia.

Langre emphasized that the tournament’s position on the calendar helped attract top players. “Players have sought us out, fortunately, and I think that makes the difference with this Challenger,” he said. “A 125 usually has a cutoff around 300 in the ranking. We’re having a cutoff of 118. We’re in the second week of the Cincinnati Open, which allows players who lose in the first week to come. We’re also right before US Open qualifying week, so players who go directly into the main draw can also come with complete peace of mind.”