Founded in 1974 and won that first year by Vitas Gerulaitis, the Vienna Open has spent its entire half-century at the Wiener Stadthalle, cycling through sponsor identities — Stadthalle Open, the Fischer-Grand Prix, the long CA-TennisTrophy run — before settling under the Erste Bank banner in 2011. Originally an event of the Grand Prix circuit, it was known as the Fischer-Grand Prix from 1976 to 1985, the CA-TennisTrophy from 1986 to 2003, the BA-CA-TennisTrophy from 2004 to 2007, and the Bank Austria TennisTrophy from 2008 to 2010. The carpet of its early decades gave way to indoor hard in 2000, and the event's status has settled back at ATP 500 — its late-October slot sitting squarely in the European indoor swing that feeds the season's final stretch.
What sets Vienna apart is the room itself: a fast, low-bouncing indoor hardcourt under the Stadthalle roof, where serve-heavy tennis and short exchanges reward flat hitters and big first deliveries. The week's value is positional — it's one of the last ATP 500 stops before the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, making it a genuine ranking battleground for players still chasing a Turin berth rather than a glorified exhibition.
The roll of champions skews elite. Across the last 10 editions, nine players have won the title, including Kevin Anderson, Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray, Lucas Pouille, Andrey Rublev, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev. The record book belongs to old names — Brian Gottfried holds the most singles titles with four, the oldest champion was Tommy Haas at 35 in 2013, and the youngest was Horst Skoff at 20 in 1988. Home hopes have been rare: three Austrians have won the singles title — Horst Skoff in 1988, Jürgen Melzer in 2009 and 2010, and Dominic Thiem in 2019.
Heading into this edition, Jannik Sinner arrives as the man to chase. The 2025 final saw Sinner overcome Alexander Zverev to lift the Vienna title for the second time, adding to the crown he took over Daniil Medvedev in 2023 — making the Stadthalle one of the most reliable hunting grounds of his early career.