Message from February 12, 2024
It’s finally set: The pairings for the first round of singles at the “Burg-Wächter Ladies Open”, the eleventh tennis tournament in Altenkirchen, which is endowed with 60,000 US dollars, have been determined. In the “Burg-Wächter Matchpoint” at the top of the bell, the winner will receive not only 9,142 US dollars but also 75 points for the world rankings after the final next Sunday.
Technical discussion during the draw (from left): Barbara Rittner, moderator Christian Döring, Andrea Petkovic and Razvan Mihai. (Photo: vh)
Altenkirchen. The time for preparation is over, now it is the turn of the sporting competition: with the draw for the main field, the eleventh tennis tournament, the “Burg-Wächter Ladies Open”, officially began in Altenkirchen on Monday afternoon (February 12th). There will now be 31 singles until next Sunday before the winner is chosen in the “Burg-Wächter Matchpoint” in the SRS Sports Park on the Glockenspitze and can look forward to prize money of 9,142 US dollars and 75 points for the world rankings. At the same time, a competition with 16 doubles is played in the opening round. The defending champion is the Dane Clara Tauson, who triumphed in 2023 as well as in 2021, making her the only player who can claim such a double pack. It is ranked number two and is ranked 80th worldwide. The top position on the seeding list is taken by the Frenchwoman Océane Dodin; the 27-year-old is now number 72 in the world and therefore the player in the district town who is/was ranked highest to date. The Spanish Marina Bassols Ribera (105) is in third place, followed by Daria Snigur from the Ukraine (135). Dodin starts against 15-year-old Julia Stusek (Mannheim), Tauson against the Belgian Alison van Uytvanck, Bassols and Snigur each against a qualifier. The Open is being organized single-handedly by the Tennis School Lob from tournament director Razvan Mihai. In contrast to previous years, the Christian non-profit sports organization SRS (Athletes Calls Athletes) stepped back into the second tier as a co-organizer and takes care of all sorts of things related to the process as a service provider.
Mihai: “A great field awaits us”
“We have a great field waiting for us, I would like to express my thanks to my entire team,” said Mihai, referring to the “right” start (after qualifying has been completed), he is looking forward to the week, “we have worked for this for a year “. Barbara Rittner, head national coach for the women’s division, a welcome guest every year, emphasized the importance of the competition: it is one of only two major indoor tournaments in Germany. “The players find fantastic conditions and Razvan’s team is doing a fantastic job. Everyone puts their heart and soul into it. I really, really enjoy being here,” she added. For the city of Altenkirchen, the tournament is the sporting event par excellence, said city mayor Ralf Lindenpütz, who quickly named Altenkirchen the “German tennis capital”. Gilbert Hemm from the new tournament ambassador Rewe-Petz figuratively took off his hat to “what is being done here in Altenkirchen and with what professionalism”. Such a tournament is “super important for the German tennis landscape and very strong,” explained Andrea Petkovic, who has been very successful on the WTA tour for many years and now acts, among other things, as a mentor for young German tennis players. Although she is also an “excellent ball collector,” Petkovic initially explained her area of responsibility with a little smile, but her “main focus” was on answering “many fundamental questions. I would like to provide support and advice.” The 29-year-old van Uytvanck, formerly number 37 in the world, currently down to number 558 after injuries and only at the start thanks to a wild card that Mihai had granted her, described the tournament as “very, very well” organized . She also praised her accommodation in the directly adjacent Hotel Glockenspitze. Finally, left-hander Noma Noha Akugue from Reinbek assured that she “feels extremely comfortable and finds the people extremely nice”.
Different starts to the year
Before the start in Altenkirchen, the four top seeded players had taken different paths. Dodin took a week’s break after failing in the semifinals against Britain’s Yuriko Lly Miyazaki 6:3, 5:7, 4:6 in France’s Andrezieux-Boutheon (W75). At the Australian Open in Melbourne, the end only came in the round of 16: 0:6, 3:6 against the eventual finalist, the Chinese Qinwen Zheng, who in turn lost against Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) at 3:6, 2:6 in the final had a chance. Things hadn’t gone well for Tauson. At the WTA250 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, last week we lost 4:6, 0:6 against Jacqueline Cristian (Romania) in the round of 16. Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) was defeated by the Dane at the Linz WTA500 in round 2 with 6:3, 4:6, 6:7 (4:7). Bassols Ribera relied on relaxation and probably a little training last week in order to digest the 2:6, 0:6 (also in Linz) against Lucrezia Stefanini (Italy). Snigur was eliminated from the W125er in Canberra (Australia) in the first round against Dodin 6:7 (2:7), 3:6 and had to say goodbye after successfully qualifying in Melbourne after the first round (6:2, 2: 6, 4:6 against the American Alycia Parks).
Altenkirchen’s good appointment
In general: A look at the WTA and ITF tournament calendars proves what an excellent date the BW Open is. At the same time, only the competition in Doha (WTA1000), the capital of Qatar, is running at the highest level. Under the organization of the ITF, Altenkirchen is the highest-paying competition as the W75 (60,000 US dollars prize money). W50 events are scheduled in Roehampton (England/US$40,000) and Morella (Mexico/US$40,000), W35s in Hammamet (Tunisia), Nakhon Si Thammarat (Thailand) and Antalya (Turkey/all US$25,000) and W15s in Manacor (Spain), Monastir (Tunisia) and Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt/all $15,000).
Schedule and where to get tickets
The schedule – Tuesday, February 13th to Friday, February 16th, 10:30 a.m. main field and around 7 p.m. night session with the “Match of the Day”; Saturday, February 17, approximately 12 p.m. Singles semi-finals, doubles semi-finals; Sunday, February 18th, around 12 p.m. doubles final, followed by singles final. The admission prices (day ticket/children under 6 years have free entry without the right to a seat) – Tuesday, February 13th/Wednesday, February 14th: 11.50 euros adults (7 euros students); Thursday, February 15: 15.50 euros (10.50 euros); Friday, February 16: 18 euros (11.50 euros); Saturday, February 17th: 26 euros (15.50 euros); Sunday February 18th: 28 euros (17 euros). Season ticket for the entire tournament week 68.50 euros (42.50 euros). Tickets online at www.bw-ladies-open.de or at the box office (from February 13th). (vh)
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2024-02-12 14:58:23
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