The Almaty Open is a relatively young tournament with a champions list that already commands attention.
Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Adrian Mannarino have all lifted its singles trophy. Other editions have provided career-changing opportunities for players pursuing their first ATP Tour title.
There is an important detail behind that history: the tournament did not begin in Almaty.
Its first four editions were held in Kazakhstan’s capital under the Astana Open name. In 2024, the event moved to Almaty and adopted the name of its new host city. The ATP treats those editions as part of the same tournament history.
That combination of continuity and change makes the event particularly interesting. It has been a destination for established champions, a breakthrough opportunity for emerging players and a showcase for Kazakhstan’s place on the professional tennis calendar.
Where is the Almaty Open played?
The tournament takes place at Almaty Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is an indoor hard-court men’s event in the ATP 250 category. The tournament’s official website identifies the arena as the venue for the 2026 edition.
Almaty is Kazakhstan’s largest city and its former capital. It offers a different setting from Astana, with a mountain landscape closely connected to the city’s identity. Kazakhstan’s tourism authority highlights the surrounding mountains as an important destination for skiing and outdoor recreation.
For visitors, that creates an appealing contrast: professional tennis inside an arena, with mountain scenery and outdoor attractions beyond the tournament.
Among the area’s best-known destinations are Medeu, the high-altitude skating venue, and the Shymbulak ski resort. Kok-Tobe offers panoramic views over the city and toward the mountains.
Those surroundings give Almaty a distinctive identity on a tour that moves through markedly different cities, climates and sporting cultures.
Why do older records say Astana or Nur-Sultan?
Fans exploring the tournament’s results may encounter three place names: Almaty, Astana and Nur-Sultan.
Almaty is the current host. Astana is the previous host city. Nur-Sultan was the name used for Kazakhstan’s capital during the tournament’s earliest editions, which is why contemporary reports from 2020 and 2021 refer to matches being played there.
The inaugural tournament was held at the National Tennis Centre in Nur-Sultan in 2020. Kazakhstan Tennis Federation reporting from that edition identifies both the original venue and John Millman’s victory.
The distinction matters when discussing past champions.
Djokovic won the tournament in Astana in 2022. He did not win that title at Almaty Arena. Khachanov, by contrast, won the first edition staged in Almaty in 2024.
Both belong on the event’s historical champions list, but their victories occurred in different cities.
A brief tournament with several chapters
The event began in 2020 and returned in 2021. According to the ATP’s tournament history, it became a permanent ATP Tour member in 2022. The move to Almaty followed in 2024.
Its category has also changed.
Most editions have been ATP 250 tournaments. The 2022 Astana edition was an ATP 500 event, making it an exception within the tournament’s history. The event subsequently returned to ATP 250 status.
That is why historical descriptions sometimes appear inconsistent. An account calling Astana an ATP 500 may accurately describe 2022, while a current description calling Almaty an ATP 250 is also correct.
The category belongs to the particular edition being discussed.
For the current tournament, the ATP 250 designation means the singles champion receives 250 ranking points. Organizers also describe a prize fund exceeding US$1 million.
Past singles champions
The completed editions through 2025 produced six different singles champions.
| Year | Host city | Champion | Runner-up | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Nur-Sultan | John Millman | Adrian Mannarino | 7–5, 6–1 |
| 2021 | Nur-Sultan | Soonwoo Kwon | James Duckworth | 7–6(6), 6–3 |
| 2022 | Astana | Novak Djokovic | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 6–3, 6–4 |
| 2023 | Astana | Adrian Mannarino | Sebastian Korda | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 2024 | Almaty | Karen Khachanov | Gabriel Diallo | 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 |
| 2025 | Almaty | Daniil Medvedev | Corentin Moutet | 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 |
The tournament’s historical results record these winners, finalists and scores.
The variety is part of the appeal. This has been a tournament where a first-time champion could emerge, an experienced player could add another trophy or a major champion could restore momentum.
2020: Millman becomes the first champion
Australian John Millman gave the inaugural edition a memorable conclusion by winning his first ATP Tour singles title.
He defeated Mannarino 7–5, 6–1 in the final, but his route to the championship was considerably more complicated than that score suggests. Earlier in the tournament, Millman saved two match points against Tommy Paul. He then recovered from a 0–3 deficit in the deciding set of his semifinal against Frances Tiafoe.
That opening chapter established a useful theme for the event: significant tennis stories do not require a Grand Slam stage.
For a player searching for a first title, an ATP 250 can represent a defining achievement. It turns years of professional work into something permanent—a place on a tour-level champions list.
Millman became the first name on this one.
2021: Kwon makes his breakthrough
The following year brought another first-time ATP champion.
South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon defeated James Duckworth 7–6(6), 6–3 in the final. His championship run included victories over seeded opponents Dusan Lajovic and Laslo Djere, followed by a semifinal win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
For local spectators, Bublik’s presence deep in the draw added a home-country storyline. For Kwon, the week ended with the first ATP Tour title of his career.
Duckworth was also playing his first tour-level singles final, making the championship match a meeting between two players pursuing a breakthrough.
After two editions, the tournament had crowned two new ATP champions.
2022: Djokovic adds a heavyweight chapter
The 2022 edition brought a particularly prominent champion.
Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6–3, 6–4 in the Astana final. The title was the 90th tour-level singles championship of Djokovic’s career.
His semifinal against Medvedev also became part of the tournament’s history. Medvedev retired because of a leg injury after the players split the opening two sets, sending Djokovic into the final.
For the event, Djokovic’s victory supplied a lasting reference point. Any tournament that can include him among its champions gains an immediately recognizable connection to the highest level of the sport.
The location remains important: this was the Astana chapter, before the relocation to Almaty.
2023: Mannarino returns and finishes the job
Mannarino had lost the inaugural final to Millman. Three years later, he returned to the championship match and won.
The French left-hander recovered from a set down to defeat Sebastian Korda 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the 2023 final. The victory gave him his second tour-level title of that season, following his success in Newport.
His two finals provide a thread connecting the tournament’s earliest edition with its last year in Astana.
They also illustrate the variety within its champions list. Mannarino’s compact strokes and distinctive timing offer a different viewing experience from the more imposing games associated with some of the event’s other winners.
For fans, that variety is one reason to follow a tournament beyond its biggest names.
2024: A new city and a Canadian breakthrough
The move to Almaty produced a final with particular significance for Canadian tennis.
Khachanov defeated Gabriel Diallo 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 to become the first Almaty Open singles champion. It was Khachanov’s seventh ATP Tour title.
Diallo, playing his first ATP Tour final, extended the contest to a deciding set. His run also carried him into the world’s top 100 for the first time.
For Canadian followers, that makes the 2024 edition an important tournament to revisit.
A first tour-level final offers evidence that a developing player can negotiate an entire week against ATP opposition. Even without the trophy, reaching that stage can mark a meaningful change in a career.
For the tournament, the final gave its new home an immediate connection to both an established champion and an emerging Canadian.
2025: Medvedev ends a long wait
Medvedev won the second Almaty edition by defeating Corentin Moutet 7–5, 4–6, 6–3.
The victory ended an 882-day title drought stretching back to his 2023 Italian Open triumph. It was his 21st ATP Tour singles title, with those championships coming in 21 different cities.
That result added another kind of story to the event’s record.
Millman and Kwon had celebrated first titles. Medvedev arrived with a major championship and a substantial collection of trophies already behind him, yet winning again still carried considerable importance.
The tournament provided the setting for a restart.
What kind of tennis should fans expect?
Indoor hard-court tennis offers an appealing setting for watching the relationship between serve, return and court position.
Without outdoor wind or direct sun, players can build their plans around more consistent environmental conditions. That does not make every indoor court equally fast: court materials, balls and other conditions still influence how matches unfold.
From a coaching perspective, useful things to watch include return position, the quality of the first ball after the serve and how effectively a player changes direction.
A powerful serve may create an opportunity, but the following shot still has to preserve it. A deep return can remove an apparent serving advantage. A player who takes time away from an opponent may succeed without producing the fastest ball.
Those tactical contrasts make the tournament worthwhile beyond the final score.
The 2026 edition and the next chapter
The ATP lists the 2026 Almaty Open for October 19–25, while the organizer advertises a broader event window of October 17–25 at Almaty Arena. As of October 21, the tournament is underway, so its 2026 champion has yet to be decided.
Its history is already substantial enough to reward a closer look.
In six completed editions, the tournament has featured first-time winners, Djokovic’s 90th title, Mannarino’s return to claim a trophy, Diallo’s first final and Medvedev’s long-awaited return to the winner’s circle.
Almaty now supplies the setting for the next chapter: an indoor tennis stage in a mountain city, carrying forward a tournament that began in Kazakhstan’s capital and has quickly accumulated stories worth remembering.
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