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The launch of the Levante Open has also entered the FITP’s official coverage. On 18 July 2026, the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, through its Puglia regional website, published an extensive article on the first edition of the Bari Challenger, bringing together the return of international men’s tennis, the 90th anniversary of Circolo Tennis Bari and the project built around the new tournament.
The article, written by Giuseppe Bellino, presents the Levante Open as a new chapter for tennis in Bari. The venue is Circolo Tennis Bari, the category is ATP Challenger 50 and the tournament will be played on clay. The official ATP calendar dates are 28 September – 4 October 2026.
A project pursued over several seasons
One of the most interesting sections of the FITP article concerns the path that brought Bari back onto the men’s professional circuit. Tournament director Vincenzo Ormas describes work that began several years before the event was awarded: the objective was to bring a Challenger back to the city after the club’s previous international events.
The Levante Open starts at the Challenger 50 level without hiding the ambition to grow over time. That is also an important point for reading this first edition correctly: not an event presented as though it has already “arrived”, but a project that still has to build continuity, an audience and its own identity.
Three nearby courts and a Centre Court with about 800 seats
The FITP also gives space to the layout designed for spectators. Ormas describes a venue organised around three courts close together, with a Centre Court seating around 800 spectators, and part of the club set aside for sponsors and side activities.
It is a choice designed to shorten the distance between the match and the spectator. At a Challenger event, where many matches and different players rotate through the courts in a single day, being able to follow more than one court without becoming dispersed is a concrete part of the tournament experience.
The link with the 90th anniversary of Circolo Tennis Bari
The federation article then stresses a coincidence that is more than symbolic for the Levante Open: its debut comes in the year in which Circolo Tennis Bari celebrates 90 years since its foundation.
President Nicoletta Virgintino links the new Challenger to a precise path: after the years of the major international women’s tournament, the objective was to bring an ATP men’s event back to Bari as well. The 2026 event completes that step and, at the same time, opens another.
We reconstructed the history of the venue in our feature on the 90 years of Circolo Tennis Bari, and the city’s earlier relationship with men’s professional tennis in the article from the Grand Prix to the Levante Open.
The FITP also looks to young players
The Federation’s account also focuses on young Italian and Apulian players. FITP vice-president Isidoro Alvisi presents the tournament as an opportunity to showcase both the area’s organisational ability and the players developing within the Italian system.
In the meantime, the acceptance list has already given the field its first concrete shape. The updated names are collected in our Levante Open 2026 entry list.
The original FITP article
The full coverage, including the comments collected during the tournament presentation, is available on the Federation’s official website:
FITP Puglia – “A Bari arriva il Levante Open: ecco il nuovo Challenger pugliese”.
It is one of the first institutional accounts of the Levante Open project and gives a clear picture of Bari’s starting point. From 28 September, the rest will have to be written on court.