The Nice French Riviera Open (or Open de Nice Côte d'Azur in French) was an ATPWorld Tour 250 series and, formerly, Grand Prix tennis circuit affiliated men's tennis tournament. This tournament was originally founded in 1925 as a combined event called the City of Nice Championships and remained as a combined event until 1971 and 1976 to 1978. Also known as the Nice International Championships. It was held in Nice, France at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club and played on outdoor clay courts. The last singles champion is Dominic Thiem from Austria.
History
The Nice Lawn Tennis Club is a tennis complex in Nice, France. It was founded in 1890 and as hosted many international tournaments. In 1925 it established the City of Nice Championships or Championnats de la Ville de Nice. Following World War II it was rebranded as the Nice International City Championships or Championnats Internationaux de la Ville de Nice. By the early 1960s it was branded as the Nice International Championships. After the Second World War, the three tournaments played at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club including the (South of France Championships (f.1897), Nice LTC Championships (1895-1955) and the City of Nice Championships (f.1925) were gradually grouped into one event. The Nice LTC event was only staged four times between 1949 and 1955 and was replaced by the Championnats de la Ville de Nice.
The tournament remained a combined event until 1971. It was combined again from 1977 to 1978. Initially tournament was usually played in February, then moved to March, then was moved again to April in the tour calendar. The women's event first ended in 1978. In 1988 it was revived but was moved to July at the same venue and was branded as the Nice Ladies Open. In 2001 a new Nice Women’s International Tennis Championships or Internationaux de Tennis Feminin Nice and played in February was revived for one edition only.
The men's event part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit between 1970 and 1989. The event was played under various (sponsored) names from 1971 through 1995. In 2010 Nice became the location of a World Tour 250 series clay court tournament, replacing the Interwetten Austrian Open in Kitzbühel, Austria on the ATP calendar. It was scheduled a week before the French Open. In November 2016 it was announced that the tournament would be replaced on the 2017 calendar by a new event, the Lyon Open, because the venue in Nice at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club could not be expanded.