Porsche supports the German Ladies' Series of the German Tennis Federation
From 16 June to 26 July, professional women's tennis in Germany is taking a first step back to normal with the "German Ladies' Series presented by Porsche" .
by Press release / tennisnet
last edit: May 24, 2020, 08:10 am
The German Tennis Association (DTB) launched this tournament series with the support of Porsche, as the worldwide profit tours are at least until the end of July due to the corona crisis. The starting field is led by 24 German players from Laura Siegemund , the winner of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2017 and current number 65 in the world.
The “German Ladies' Series presented by Porsche” will be held in five cities. It starts on June 16 with the preliminary round games in Stuttgart, Darmstadt and Versmold. Other venues for the intermediate round are Hamburg and Kamen. The finale takes place in Versmold in the week from July 19 to 26. All matches are carried out in strict compliance with the requirements of the authorities. The game is played only with a chair umpire and without line judges and ball children.
The Porsche Team Germany is represented by the top seeded Laura Siegemund with Anna-Lena Friedsam and Mona Barthel. Young players sponsored by Porsche also use the tournament series as preparation for the long-awaited new start in professional women's tennis. From the Porsche Talent Team, Katharina Gerlach, Jule Niemeier, Nastasja Schunk, Joelle Steur and Alexandra Vecic are at the start. With Mara Guth, Tea Lukic, Eva Lys, Julia Middendorf, Sarah Müller and Angelina Wirges, six junior hopes of the Porsche Junior Team are emerging.
Even the former world ranking list 48. Carina Witthöft will be there, she has not played a match since the beginning of 2019.
Rittner: "Interesting mix of experienced professionals and hopeful talents"
"We consider organizing a nationwide tournament series to be a successful idea of the German Tennis Federation. Porsche, as a long-term premium partner of the DTB, is happy to help ensure that German players can return to competitive mode despite the interruption of international professional and youth tours, ”said Oliver Eidam, Head of Brand Partnerships & Sponsoring at Porsche AG. “Match practice is a great motivation, especially for the young players from the Porsche Talent Team and Porsche Junior Team, and is important for their further sporting development. Regardless of the sporty appeal of this tournament series, strict compliance with the official requirements and the health of everyone involved are top priorities for Porsche. ”
"The starting field of the 'German Ladies' Series presented by Porsche' is an interesting mix of experienced professionals and hopeful talents," said Barbara Rittner, Head of Women's Tennis at the German Tennis Federation. "The fact that Porsche is now significantly supporting this new tournament series as part of its long-term partnership with the DTB and its commitment at the federal bases in Stuttgart and Kamen shows the company's sustained commitment to German women's tennis and the promotion of young talent. This close cooperation with our partner is particularly important in the current challenging times. "
This is how it is played
The "German Ladies' Series presented by Porsche" will be held over four rounds in group games and subsequent placement matches over four days. The 24 participants initially play in a preliminary round in six groups of four according to the round robin system (everyone against everyone). The preliminary round matches will be played at the three locations in Stuttgart, Darmstadt and Versmold in two groups over three days. The group-wide placement games will take place on the fourth day of the tournament. The top four finishers at each venue make it into the intermediate round and play for six places in the semi-finals in Darmstadt in Darmstadt, Kamen and Hamburg. The venue for the final round of the best four is Versmold. With this staging mode, as many matches as possible should be generated for the players.
The men are also starting an invitation series, which starts on June 8th. Jan-Lennard Struff is top placed here.