The Open de Caen will stage a third-place match on the final day of its 20th edition, organizers announced Nov. 4, 2026, adding a bonus fixture at the Palais des Sports in Caen, France, that guarantees every semifinalist two matches at the December tournament, actu.fr reported.
The new match will be played Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2026, at 6 p.m. local time as the curtain-raiser to the final, pitting the two losing semifinalists against each other. The event runs Dec. 13–16, 2026, and the addition means headliners entering the semifinals already know they will play twice regardless of their first result.
Caen Copies a Format Long Used Elsewhere to Avoid One-Sided Finals
Tournament general manager Arnaud Guimard framed the change as a deliberate effort to keep the spotlight on the biggest names, telling actu.fr: “All players will be affected from Tuesday evening. Whatever happens, they will play. It’s more spectacle, more big names. We want to prolong the show.”
The decision was prompted in part by last year’s final, when Lorenzo Musetti produced a non-match against Hugo Gaston, winning 6-2, 6-0 in a performance that drew boos from the stands, according to actu.fr. By forcing the semifinal losers to play again on finals day, the organizers eliminate the possibility of a walkover-style final and ensure the arena gets a full day of competitive tennis.
The Men’s Field Mixes a Breakout Star With a Former Top-5 Player
Four men are announced for the 2026 edition, which France 3 Régions describes as an exhibition tournament that the players nonetheless take seriously as a barometer ahead of the Australian Open in January.
Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, ranked No. 27 in the world and the 2025 Shanghai Masters 1000 champion, will make his first appearance in Caen, arriving with a reputation as an aggressive, offensive player, France 3 Régions reported. Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 23 in the ATP rankings and a two-time Roland Garros finalist who has beaten Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, headlines the draw. France’s Ugo Humbert, No. 38, a regular at the event who hopes to recapture his best form in 2027, returns, while Denmark’s Holger Rune — a former world No. 4 in 2023 now ranked around No. 190 — comes back as well. Guimard told France 3 Régions that Rune is “a true Viking, a warrior” on court and one of his fondest memories of the tournament.
Guimard said the 20th-edition lineup was built around competitors rather than marquee names alone. “More than names, we wanted profiles — players who give everything on court, who play all out,” he told France 3 Régions.
Chwalinska and Vekic Lead the Women’s Draw
On the women’s side, the tournament will welcome Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, the world No. 12 and a finalist at this year’s Roland Garros, and Croatia’s Donna Vekic, No. 39, who reached the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics, France 3 Régions reported. Both have close ties to France, and their presence gives the Caen crowd two players with recent major-stage experience.
Tickets Remain for All Four Days of the 16,000-Seat Event
The Palais des Sports will hold 16,000 spectators across the four days of competition, and actu.fr reported that a few tickets remain on sale. Because the tournament sits at the very end of the calendar year, just before the holiday break, players use it to gauge their form after resuming training for the Australian Open, France 3 Régions noted — the event “wakes up their appetite for victory,” as Guimard put it.
Questions Fans Are Asking About the New Format
- Who plays in it? The two semifinalists who lose their matches. The identities are not yet known because the semifinal draw has not been set.
- Why was it added? To avoid a repeat of the 2025 final, when Musetti beat Gaston 6-2, 6-0 to loud boos, and to guarantee every star plays two matches, per Guimard’s comments to actu.fr.
- Dec. 13–16, 2026, at the Palais des Sports in Caen, Normandy, France, with 16,000 tickets released across the four days.
The 20th edition opens Dec. 13 at the Palais des Sports, with the new third-place match closing the event on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. ahead of the final.
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