Ladies Open: “The tournament has arrived in Berlin” | rbb24rbb24
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Tennis: Ladies Open
23.06.24 | 19:28
The withdrawal of the crowd-puller, rain. Some things turned out differently at the Ladies Open Berlin. That’s exactly why it was an exciting lawn tennis tournament that ended on Sunday. A review with tournament director Barbara Rittner.
“A very emotional week, difficult weather conditions, a great field of participants, great tennis, an incredible final – all in all a complete success. The tournament has arrived in Berlin,” said Barbara Rittner on Sunday in a telephone conversation with rbb|24. The tournament director looks back with satisfaction on the Ladies Open Berlin, where the best tennis players in the world will compete against each other shortly before the start of Wimbledon (July 1 – July 14).
But the weather in particular posed a major challenge for the tournament.
The most important anecdotes at a glance.
The best in the world is not playing
The appearance of tennis superstar Iga Swiatek at the Steffi Graf Stadium was eagerly awaited. It was supposed to be the Berlin debut for the 22-year-old Pole, who has already won five Grand Slam tournaments. Then came the setback: the newly crowned French Open winner cancelled shortly before the start of the tournament for physical reasons: “I was looking forward to playing in front of the fans, but I have to give priority to my health in order to be able to play the whole season without any problems,” said the world number one.
“She won Paris and said she now wants to recover a bit more, you have to respect that,” says Barbara Rittner.
Despite the last-minute withdrawal of the world number one, tennis fans were able to enjoy a top-class field of participants with eight players from the top 10.
Weather is not playing along either
In Berlin and Brandenburg, it was stormy, raining and lightning, precisely in the week that summer began. What was an annoyance for many people in the region was particularly bad for the grass tournament.
“As soon as the grass gets wet – it doesn’t have to rain a lot, a light drizzle is enough – the grass becomes slippery and that makes it dangerous,” says Rittner. “That meant it was a big challenge for our team of helpers, for our greenkeepers, who then had to decide when to cover the pitches.”
The semi-final match between Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula was interrupted in the tiebreak on Saturday evening due to rain. The match was not completed until Sunday morning.
Pegula’s Golden Sunday
Before the tournament began, 30-year-old Jessica Pegula was on the radar of very few people. After her success in the semi-final match against tournament favorite Coco Gauff, which was spread over two days, she was considered a hot contender for the title: she defeated her fellow American 7:5, 7:6 (7:2) on Saturday and Sunday. On the same day of her semi-final victory, the world number five fought her way to overall victory in a thrilling final against Russian Anna Kalinskaja (6:7, 6:4, 7:6).
“No matter who wins here, it requires a special performance. And Jessica did a great job, fending off five match points in the final,” said Rittner about Pegula’s success.
German representatives eliminated early
The performance of the German participants was disappointing. Angelique Kerber and Jule Niemeier lost their opening matches.
For Kerber, it was the first grass court match after her maternity leave. The 36-year-old had to admit defeat in the first round match to Czech Linda Noskova in three sets (6:7, 6:2, 4:6).
The tournament will remain in Berlin – at least in 2025
Tennis fans can also look forward to the Berlin WTA tournament next year. This was confirmed by the previous tournament director Edwin Weindorfer on Sunday. “The tournament will remain in Berlin. I do not want to comment on how long this will last,” said Weindorfer, who will, however, withdraw from his role as organizer.
Recently, there have been reports that the future of the tournament is unclear due to a lack of financial support from the Senate.
“The city has not supported us in any way and perhaps they will reconsider this for the future,” Rittner says when asked.
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2024-06-23 17:28:00
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