bett1open: Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka come to Berlin
The two leaders in the WTA world rankings, Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka , will start at the first bett1 Open in Berlin.
by PM
last edit: May 21, 2021, 08:07 am
Meeting of the tennis world elite at the bett1open in Berlin ! In just 24 days, the WTA 500 tournament will celebrate its premiere on the grass pitches of the LTTC “Rot-Weiß” eV (June 12th to 20th, 2021) - and with a field that leaves nothing to be desired. “We have eight top ten players at the start, plus Germany's number one, Angelique Kerber . It will be a superlative tennis festival, ”says tournament director Barbara Rittner with conviction.
In addition to the current numbers one and two in the world, Ashleigh Barty (Australia / 1) and Naomi Osaka (Japan / 2), Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus / 4), Sofia Kenin (USA / 5), Elina Svitolina (Ukraine / 6), Bianca Andreescu (CAN / 7), Iga Swiatek (Poland / 9) and Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic / 10) confirmed their participation in the bett1open.
The outstanding field of participants is completed with the top 20 players Belinda Bencic (Switzerland / 11), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic / 12), Garbine Muguruza (Spain / 13), Jennifer Brady (USA / 14), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus / 16), Maria Sakkari (Greece / 18) and Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic / 19). This means that 15 players from the top 20 of the world rankings are in Berlin! "I'm already looking forward to seeing these great players play in the traditional Steffi Graf Stadium," said Rittner. "I am proud of this field, which is certainly not a given." The quality of the entry list also underlines the fact that the participants of the bett1open have won no fewer than 17 Grand Slam individual titles.
Angelique Kerber the German figurehead
“The top-class field of participants and Angelique Kerber as the German figurehead promise top-class tennis. We all hope that the bett1open spectators will be able to attend the premiere and that the fans will be able to celebrate the return of the women's tournament to Berlin together with the players, ”explains Adam Szpyt , founder and CEO of bett1.de.
Edwin Weindorfer , CEO of the e | motion group and organizer of bett1open, is also enthusiastic: “Together with bett1 we succeeded in organizing an extraordinary event despite the difficult conditions, which shortly before the season highlight at Wimbledon was also a grand -Slam flair will bring to Berlin. A tournament premiere couldn't be better cast. "
The 33-year-old Kerber, Wimbledon winner 2018, is currently 26th in the world rankings and can follow in the footsteps of Steffi Graf at the bett1open, who was the last German player to win the women's tournament in Berlin (1996) - back then but still on sand!