Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Exclusive starting field with seven top ten stars
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021 there will be another meeting of the absolute WTA world leaders: Seven top ten players have announced their start in Stuttgart.
by PM / tennisnet
last edit: Mar 24, 2021, 04:10 pm
In the Porsche-Arena, the best tennis players in the world give each other the handle. When it comes to the class of the starting field, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has again Grand Slam level: With Ashleigh Barty at the top, number 1 in the world and winner of the WTA Finals 2019, the 44th edition of the traditional Stuttgart tournament will not be less than seven top 10 players expected. In addition to the Australian, who will serve for the first time in the Porsche Arena, these are Simona Halep (Romania / 3), Sofia Kenin (USA / 4), Elina Svitolina (Ukraine / 5), Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic / 6), Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus / 8) and defending champion Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic / 10). There are also other top stars such as Iga Swiatek (Poland), winner of the 2020 French Open, Garbine Muguruza (Spain), Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady (USA), Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) and former world number one Victoria Azarenka (Belarus).
Seven top 10 stars, eight Grand Slam winners and 15 players from the top 20: Markus Günthardt, tournament director of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, can look forward to an exclusive field. “This is a unique field for a tournament in our category,” says the Swiss. “The fact that all these players come to us in these difficult times is an enormous vote of confidence and speaks for the popularity of our tournament. At the same time, they show us that they trust us to create safe conditions for everyone involved and, despite all restrictions, to ensure a certain feel-good factor. The efforts that we have made together with Porsche and all partners to enable the tournament to be held, especially in these turbulent times, have definitely paid off. "
Wildcards for Laura Siegemund and Andrea Petkovic
In addition to Angelique Kerber, who won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in 2015 and 2016, there is another German Stuttgart winner in the main field: Laura Siegemund. The 2017 winner receives a wildcard, as does Andrea Petkovic. "You have provided some highlights in the Porsche Arena in recent years and definitely deserved the wildcard," says Anke Huber, the sporting director. “It's always nice for us to have the best German players at our tournament.” The trio can even expect reinforcements, because four top talents from the Porsche junior teams are at the start in the qualification: the reigning Germans are sure to be there Champion Noma Noha Akugue from the Porsche Junior Team as well as Nastasja Schunk and Alexandra Vecic, who are promoted in the Porsche Talent Team. It has not yet been decided who will complete the quartet.
What is certain, however, is that Ashleigh Barty is coming to Stuttgart. She is number 1 in the world and was the outstanding player before the turbulence of the pandemic reached the WTA Tour: in 2019 she celebrated her first Grand Slam success at the French Open and closed the best year of her young career as the winner of the "Porsche Race to Shenzhen" and the WTA Finals. Now she's doing the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for the first time. “Stuttgart is a great opportunity for me to start the European clay court season,” says the Australian. “I've heard a lot of positive things about this tournament and I'm really looking forward to being part of it for the first time.” This is of course mutual. "Having a player like Ash Barty with us is something very special," says Anke Huber, the sporting director. “She is not only a great personality on the court, but also a sporting role model in her home country Australia beyond tennis. I look forward to meeting you."