Romanian tycoon Ion Tiriac is in a critical situation after being informed that he cannot be excused any longer, putting him at risk of losing his license to host the ATP 250 tournament in Romania starting from 2024. The tournament has been hosted under various names, including Romanian Open, BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy, and is currently known as Țiriac Open. In recent years, Tiriac has expressed reluctance to continue organizing the event due to the lack of infrastructure, but the situation is more complex than that.

Threat of Losing the License

“I will lose the license if I don’t host the tournament. They told me from ATP, ‘Ion, once, twice, we have forgiven you, but it can’t happen anymore,’” Tiriac explained. He mentioned that he knows Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP president, since Gaudenzi was 11 years old, but there is no more room for discussion. As a result, Tiriac is planning to host the tournament temporarily at Otopeni in the coming year.

He hopes to have a stadium by 2028, not a hall, as he was told that a hall is not possible. “I will build a 5,000-seat open stadium. Because if I lose this tournament, we will be left with nothing,” Tiriac told DigiSport.

Significant Figures in the Tournament's History

In the past 24 years, the tournament has seen many big names in tennis, including Novak Djokovic, who was ranked 296th in the world at the age of 17 and qualified for the main draw in 2004. Djokovic eventually lost to David Ferrer in the decisive set. Other notable players who have made their mark at the tournament include Thomas Muster, Alberto Berasategui, Gilles Simon, and Grigor Dimitrov, the 2014 champion.

The last three winners of the tournament have been Marton Fucsovics, Flavio Cobolli, and Mariano Navone. Despite the presence of these international stars, no Romanian player has ever won the singles event, with Victor Hănescu coming closest in 2007, losing to Gilles Simon in the final. However, Romanian doubles teams have been more successful, with Andrei Pavel and Gabriel Trifu winning in 1998 and Horia Tecău winning in 2012, 2013, and 2014 with various partners.