German Ladies' Series: Interview with Barbara Rittner - "Can be proud to have implemented the idea well"
Today we start with the semi-finals of the German Ladies' Series presented by Porsche. We spoke to Barbara Rittner , Head of Womens Tennis at DTB, about her impressions so far.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jul 14, 2020, 09:32 pm
Ms. Rittner, the semi-final group games of the German Ladies' Series presented by Porsche are coming up. Who has surprised or delighted you the most?
It is of course nice that with Jule Niemeier, Katharina Gerlach and Nastasja Schunk three out of six starters from the Porsche Talent Team are in the semi-finals. And had good results: Jule Niemeier gave Laura Siegemund a lot to stand up against, Katha Gerlach won against Mona Barthel, as did Nasti Schunk. And from the Porsche Junior Team, Julia Middendorf delivered great matches. Otherwise it is of course great how professionally Laura Siegemund tackles the matter and collects match practice. Hats off how she pulls it through.
Did you notice with Laura Siegemund that she could train in Florida ?
Hm, I wouldn't see it that way. Ultimately, you cannot train in the matches, you have to play them. And in the end everyone was able to work on their own fitness. In this regard, I am particularly pleased that the juniors with whom my coaching staff and I have followed a crisp program in courses over the past eight to ten weeks have become fitter throughout. In this respect, the Corona break, in which everyone got their program from us, was perhaps a good one. Possibly even more important than the tennis-specific work on the court.
Is a tournament break still a good time to fine-tune certain shots, such as volley or slice? Because that often goes down during the tournaments.
Yes, or to correct a grip position. Or to stabilize the one-handed slice from the defensive. The players worked on it individually. It was nice to see that they had the courage to implement this in the matches.
Carina Witthöft actually wanted to make her comeback, but then canceled at short notice. What was going on?
She had pulled herself shortly before the start of the series, had muscular problems again, with which you certainly cannot play four hard matches on four consecutive days ... Carina wanted to play with, and we immediately signaled that she would get a wildcard from us . She then reported in person and said: Unfortunately, it does not work. That was too bad. Because she didn't want to do it with pressure, but with fun. Also to see where it leads. It might have been a good start.
Was there a general discussion with her? The mood between the two of you was not so good lately.
Yes. Ultimately, there were some misunderstandings. Also because she felt - partly not wrongly - very criticized. But I also showed her my position and explained that as part of my work as a Eurosport expert, I sometimes have to analyze critically. But I think we could clear that up.
From your point of view, how was and is the series organized in terms of Corona?
All organizers managed this responsibly and conscientiously. The players had their single rooms, there was a mask requirement, distances were kept ... I think we can all be very proud to have implemented this idea well.
The tournament series is accompanied by the "Aces for Charity" campaign. For each ace struck, the Presenting Sponsor Porsche donates 50 euros to charity. So far the women have beaten 309 aces, are you satisfied with the players' service performance?
This is of course a great promotion from our long-time DTB partner Porsche. I think the number is impressive. But personally I would not mind if the ladies put one or two aces on the final games.
# IMG2 #
From July 15th to 18th, eight players in two groups will contest the four final tickets. Laura Siegemund and Anna-Lena Friedsam, who returned via wildcard, lead the groups - all information and grouping is available here !