Chidekh’s flawless run lights up early 2026
A 10-match streak carries Frenchman Clement Chidekh to back-to-back Challenger titles, blending tactical poise with rising pressure on indoor hard courts.
In the dim glow of indoor arenas across Britain, Frenchman Clement Chidekh has seized control of his 2026 season from the opening bell. Back-to-back ATP Challenger titles in Nottingham and now the Glasgow Challenger mark a 24-year-old’s ascent, where every baseline exchange builds toward something larger. His game, once honed on American college courts, now pulses with the urgency of pro circuits, turning cold-weather venues into stages for quiet dominance.
Final twists test resolve
Chidekh carried momentum into the Glasgow Challenger final against Mikhail Kukushkin, but the Kazakhstani veteran pushed back hard, claiming the first set 7-5 after exploiting a dip in the Frenchman’s serve. He reset swiftly, unleashing a barrage of inside-out forehands in the second set to take it 6-1, forcing Kukushkin deep with heavy topspin that chewed up the fast surface. Leading 4-0 in the third, Chidekh watched his opponent retire with a right shoulder injury, extending his winning streak to 10 in a match that demanded mental steel amid the sparse crowd’s tension.
Lift it high, Clement #ATPChallenger | @FFTennis pic.twitter.com/hkRD1Z6hTv
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) January 17, 2026
Career path gains traction
A former University of Washington standout who turned pro in 2022 after his junior season, Chidekh now holds four Challenger titles, repeating his first victory right here in Glasgow from the prior year. The run has lifted him 26 places to No. 189 in the PIF ATP Rankings, just five spots from his career high, rewarding a style built on versatile slices and timely 1–2 patterns that disrupt rhythm on indoor hard. As schedules compress and opponents adapt, his ability to vary crosscourt angles with down-the-line surprises hints at breakthroughs waiting in main-draw qualifiers.
Global wins fuel the fire
Elsewhere, Pol Martin Tiffon grabbed his maiden Challenger title at the Bangkok Open 2, grinding past Maximus Jones 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a final that swung on his crosscourt backhand winners after weathering aggressive net rushes. The 26-year-old Spaniard vaulted 109 spots to No. 264, his topspin loops turning humid hard courts into an ally for extended rallies. On Buenos Aires clay, Italian Franco Agamenone stretched his perfect 6-0 Challenger finals record, rallying from a set down to beat Andrea Collarini 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Challenger AAT de TCA 1 with inside-in forehands that stretched the court wide.
This is what it’s all about @FAgamenone celebrates the title with his baby girl Faustina#ATPChallenger | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/T6EzkB4eG0
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) January 17, 2026
These triumphs—from Scotland’s chill to Thailand’s heat and Argentina’s red dirt—reveal the Challenger tour’s role in forging adaptable pros. Chidekh’s streak sets a tone for a season where surface shifts and injury dodges define progress, pulling underdogs like Tiffon and Agamenone into the ranking fray with tactical edges that promise deeper runs ahead.
