Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: "...then we did something right"
At the final press conference of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2023, the organizers were very satisfied with the current edition - but there was always room for improvement.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 23, 2023, 04:37 pm
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2023 was again a complete success - according to the verdict of those involved. Anke Huber, the sports director and herself a two-time winner - at that time still in Filderstadt - emphasized the density of the players: Eight out of ten from the top ten were at the start, 15 of the top 20, plus three top ten women in the semifinals. And with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, the numbers 1 and 2 in the final, "which wasn't the case that often on the tour," says Huber.
For whom "the most beautiful center court in the world" has been set up in Stuttgart, which the players would always confirm. Yes, there are certainly larger places in the Grand Slam tournaments, "but no place is nicer."
Tournament director Markus Günthardt emphasized not only the great sporting performances, but also the newly designed village, with the Racket Sports World, which took place for the first time and was well received. However, there are always new thoughts about the coming editions, "an event is never finished, it is always in motion."
In any case, a lot has changed in the event sector in recent years, the trend is towards hybrid events that are consumed differently than before, not only live, but also via (social) media. One direction that has been taken in Stuttgart: The in-house Porsche Tennis TV has doubled its numbers compared to the previous year: 43,000 spectators have been counted here, and a total of 17,800 hours of tennis have been watched. In addition, there are the figures from Eurosport and the Tennis Channel, which streamed all games.
And the spectators on site? Many concerts and events had major problems in the aftermath of Corona and the increased household costs, but the numbers at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix were similar to those in 2019. Around 31,000 spectators attended the tournament this year.
Friday was almost sold out, and Saturday and Sunday were completely sold out. But he was only satisfied when the arena was completely full every day, said Günthardt with a laugh. And anyway, the people who come should be satisfied, this is the decisive factor. And when he looked at the mood, he realized: "We did something right there."