Sarkis Hayrapetyan of Armenia, the men's champion at the 2011 Tallinn Trophy
The Tallinn Trophy debuted in 2002 as a local competition. It debuted as an international skating competition in 2011; Sarkis Hayrapetyan of Armenia won the men's event, Yulia Starikova of Russia won the women's event, and Irina Štork and Taavi Rand of Estonia won the ice dance event.
The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014. It is a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union and organized by ISU member nations. The objective is to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earn points towards the World Standings and Season's World Ranking. When an event is held as part of the Challenger Series, it must host at least three of the four disciplines (men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance) and representatives from at least ten different ISU member nations. The minimum number of entrants required for each discipline is eight skaters each in men's singles and women's singles, five teams in pair skating, and six teams in ice dance. Each ISU member nation is eligible to enter up to three skaters or teams per discipline in each competition, although the Estonian Skating Union may enter an unlimited number of entrants in their own event.
The Tallinn Trophy was a Challenger Series event from 2015 through 2018, and again in 2024 and 2025. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Tallinn Trophy was held exclusively for skaters in Estonia. It is currently hosted by the Estonian Skating Union, and It has been held at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn since 2015. The 2026 Tallinn Trophy is scheduled to be held from 16 to 22 November.