Linz boss Sandra Reichel: "Fans, we miss you!
Instead of a final press conference, this year tournament director Sandra Reichel conveyed her results of the tournament of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in this way and is particularly aimed at the missing fans of the tennis classic. The last title of the year went to tournament favorite Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.
by PM
last edit: Nov 15, 2020, 08:46 pm
Dear fans,
when we entered the TipsArena for the 30th anniversary of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz these days, we felt pretty lonely over and over again. Without you, the experience at the Linz women's tennis classic was simply not the same and we are already longing to hopefully see you all again next year.
Nevertheless, even in retrospect, it was the right decision for us to hold our anniversary tournament in these difficult times. With the unique support of the city of Linz, the state of Upper Austria and our many other partners behind us, we gave the players the opportunity to pursue their passion and their profession. In addition, we were able to offer our loyal sponsors and partners an extraordinary national and international media reach as the only WTA tournament this week and as the last women's tennis event in the 2020 calendar year.
The feedback we received from many different places over the course of the week also confirmed our decision. The players felt safe and in good hands with us and could concentrate fully on the sport. In the end, this tournament week left nothing to be desired in terms of sport. With Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens we experience a real dream finale on Sunday. For the sixth time in the history of the Linz tournament, the two top seeded players are in the final - and I am sure that we will hear a lot from both of them in the future! For Sabalenka, reaching the final already meant returning to the top 10 - she ousted Serena Williams from the elite circle.
We have also set standards in terms of security. With a detailed hygiene concept we created the basis for the implementation of the tournament and were always aware of our great responsibility. Ultimately, we did not have to record a single positive corona test during the tournament week. For me this is one of the greatest successes of the last few days.
My big thanks go to my team, with whom we only had four weeks this time to set up the largest Austrian women's sports event, and our large and small partners and sponsors, including Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, Linz AG, bet- at-home and Porsche, who, like us, have shown the necessary courage that is needed in this time. Upper Austria and the city of Linz showed at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2020 what is possible with team spirit, passion, perseverance and great solidarity - and it is precisely these values that currently need to be brought more into focus. We will only be able to master the pandemic we are in at the moment together.
And if we succeeded, we look forward to seeing you all again at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021.
Until then: everyone stays healthy!
Your
Sandra Reichel