Alexander Ritschard has won the Lisbon Challenger. The Swiss beat Svyatoslav Gulin 6-2 6-1 in the final of the event, a clay-court Challenger 100, and lifted the trophy on Sunday, October 25. According to the Swiss press, it is his second success in Lisbon after the one in 2024.
The result matters most for the rankings. Ritschard started the week at No. 483 and, according to the site's page, now sits at No. 280 in the ATP rankings with 196 points: a jump of 203 places in a single week. No. 280 is also his best ranking in the history stored by the site, dated October 26, 2026.
A Challenger 100 title is worth 100 points, which is enormous in this part of the rankings. Just look at his neighbours: ahead of Ritschard are Cezar Cretu (No. 278) and Calvin Hemery (No. 279), both on 198 points, while right behind is Valerio Aboian (No. 281) on 196. Between one place and the next, only two points separate them.
The draw featured 27 players from 15 countries, with Spain the most represented nation (six players). Ritschard entered the tournament in the third round against Spain's Carlos Taberner, No. 457, and won 6-1 7-5. It was their first meeting, and the head-to-head stands at 1-0 for the Swiss.
The round of 16 was tougher, against Italy's Raul Brancaccio, No. 219. Ritschard won 6-4 4-6 6-4, losing the second set but quickly finding his way again in the third. This too was the first ever meeting between the two.
In the quarter-finals came his cleanest win in terms of play: 7-5 6-2 against India's Sumit Nagal. The first set was the closest, then Ritschard pulled away. On the site, their head-to-head is level at 1-1 over two matches.
The semi-final pitted him against Marco Trungelliti, the Argentine, No. 89 in the rankings and the best-placed player still in the draw. Ritschard beat him 6-1 6-4 in their first meeting recorded by the site. Trungelliti, 36.7 years old, had knocked out Croatia's Matej Dodig 6-4 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
The other side of the draw told a different story. Gulin, No. 545, entered as a lucky loser, that is, a player who gets into the main draw after a withdrawal, and reached his first Challenger final, as reported by the Portuguese press. It was a run worth respect, but in the final it ran into a more experienced opponent.
In the final Ritschard stayed in control of the match from start to finish and closed it out 6-2 6-1, never giving Gulin the margin to get back into the match. The scoreline reflects the gap in experience between a veteran and a newcomer at this level. Over the five rounds he played, he lost just one set, the one against Brancaccio.
The Lisbon run is also a small personal revenge. In 2025 Ritschard stopped in the quarter-finals: Stefano Travaglia beat him 6-2 1-6 7-6(5), after two clear wins over Joel Schwaerzler (6-2 6-1) and Vit Kopriva (6-4 6-2). This year he took three more steps: semi-final, final and title.
The points also play their part. With the 2026 edition, the 20 points from the 2025 quarter-finals drop off, while the title brings 100. For a player who in 2025 recorded a single defeat in main-tour events, the clay of the Challenger circuit remains the ground on which to rebuild his ranking.
His form confirms this is not an isolated flash. In his last ten matches Ritschard has won seven and lost three; over the last 23 the record is 12 wins and 11 losses, a +1 balance on the site's form line. Before Lisbon he played the Seville Challenger 125, where he beat Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6(5) 6-3 in the third round before stopping in the round of 16 against Austria's Sebastian Ofner, 6-4 6-4.
The comparison with the main tour remains distant. In 2022-2025, at the Slams, Masters 1000, ATP 500 and 250 events followed by the site, Ritschard played 9 matches and won one. The latest is the loss at Houston 2025, 6-3 6-4 to Cristian Garin. Against Jaume Antoni Munar Clar, now No. 65, he lost both meetings in Gstaad, in 2022 and 2023, both times 6-3 6-3.
To understand the value of the feat, look at the list of champions. In 2025 the Lisbon Challenger went to Vilius Gaubas, who beat Henrique Rocha 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 in the final. The 2026 edition saw 22 matches up to the semi-finals, 4 tie-breaks and 2 retirements; the match with the most games was Trungelliti-Caniato, 4-6 7-6(3) 6-3, in 32 games.
In the rankings Ritschard now returns to a position that opens more doors, starting with the entry lists of higher-level Challengers. A jump of 203 places does not change a career on its own, but at 32 it is a clear signal: the form is there, and you can see it in a whole week without a dip.
The calendar will say where he tries to confirm it. For now Lisbon leaves him a title, 100 points and a No. 280 that will help him into better draws. For Swiss tennis it is good news at the end of October, in a week when attention was all on the indoor events in Vienna and Basel: the Lisbon story is a reminder that the tour is also made of these quiet runs, played far from the spotlight and decided one round at a time.
Test yourself
3 questions on what you have just read.
1. Who did Ritschard beat in the Lisbon final?
2. What was the score of Ritschard's semi-final win over Trungelliti?
3. Who won the Lisbon Challenger in 2025?