Stuttgart boss Edwin Weindorfer - "There will be collateral damage"
Edwin Weindorfer , tournament director of the Boss Open in Stuttgart, takes stock of the week in an interview with tennisnet. And also comments on the plans of the ATP.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Jun 12, 2022, 07:06 pm

The tournament week in Stuttgart is almost over, Matteo Berrettini and Andy Murray promise a high-class final, the spectators are back too. Edwin Weindorfer has a lot to do on Saturday afternoon, but the Styrian still takes a few minutes to discuss the balance sheet with tennisnet.com. Meeting point in the clubhouse at TC Weissenhof, where the players actually have exclusive access.
tennisnet : Mr. Weindorfer. What is your conclusion about the Boss Open 2022? First of all, from a sporting point of view.
Edwin Weindorfer : Of course we are absolutely satisfied that the top players have made it this far. That's not everyday. At the last moment we had a very good starting field with two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray, with Stefanos Tsitsipas, with Matteo Berrettini. And at a difficult time. Of course, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have also served with us. So there were even better casts.
tennisnet : And as far as audience participation is concerned? Last year we had to play in front of empty stands.
Weindorfer : The first few days were mixed in terms of weather. Due to Corona we are currently selling many day tickets. That was also a learning process for us. The weather was bad on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we didn't sell well at the box office either. In addition, there are the Pentecost holidays in Baden-Württemberg. A lot of people who actually come to tennis are on the road right now. That's the reality. At the weekend we are 90 to 100 percent full. For the first time we were able to organize a players party again, life is back. That's positive.
tennisnet : What can you tell us about the change of title sponsor, which is surprising for outsiders?
Weindorfer : First of all, it's incredible that after the end of a 42-year partnership between Mercedes and this tournament, we've managed to find a new world-class sponsor in Boss. We were surprised that after the contract expired in autumn 2021, things didn't go on with Mercedes. But in this difficult situation we have found the perfect partner in Boss. A four-year contract, it couldn't get any better. The company is young-oriented, equips Matteo Berrettini, I am convinced that this will be a great collaboration.
"Some tournaments will not survive"
tennisnet : From a global perspective, there are really big upheavals in the tournament landscape in the ATP. But the events you manage have been spared, right?
Weindorfer : Vienna, Stuttgart, Berlin and Mallorca are not affected. There's this idea of a 1000 tournament on grass, it's no secret. From my point of view, it's all just banter. Because a tournament of this magnitude would not be possible in Hamburg, HalleWestfalen or Stuttgart. It might be feasible in England, but not at the current location of the 500 in Queen's Club. That 1000, which I don't think is coming, would massively impact the only part of the calendar that really works great. One likes to speculate. And some points of Andrea Gaudenzi's vision have not yet been clearly formulated.
tennisnet : What is clear: Some ATP Masters 1000 tournaments will be extended to twelve days in 2023, and more will follow a year later. How do you see these changes?
Weindorfer : The only question is: How much collateral damage will there be? We are all members of the ATP, regardless of which category a tournament is in. Together with Doha and Marseille, Stuttgart is the strongest 250 in the world, also better manned than some 500s. Will not be affected for the next three years. And who knows what will happen in 2026?
tennisnet : But if Madrid, Rome, Cincinnati and the Canadian Masters are inflated to twelve days - won't some tournaments suffer?
Weindorfer : Personally, I don't think that's a good idea. Because from my point of view, the tournaments mentioned are not going to get that much stronger. And there are many smaller tournaments that are also important: Kitzbühel as the second largest event in Austria, Umag as the only tournament in Croatia, Bastad in Sweden, Gstaad. These tournaments will all suffer terribly when Cincinnati and Canada are extended to two weeks. There is always a week missing in the summer. Luckily, in 2014 we decided to go grass. And yes, now we do have an answer: this grand vision, which is not shared by everyone, will cause a great deal of collateral damage. And some tournaments won't survive.
"The WTA has a big problem: China"
tennisnet : It will also be difficult for Munich with an earlier date.
Weindorfer: Exactly. But that is not the fault of the MTTC Iphitos, but of the ATP. Massive wrong decisions are happening right now. When you think about how well everything has worked for the past 30 years - and now you have a two-week clay-court season in the summer. But when it comes to majority decisions on the board, the 1000s dominate. And they really don't care how the small events are doing. And that's wrong.
tennisnet : And what about the WTA? It has to be based on the men...
Weindorfer : The WTA has to adapt. This is certainly not easy. The WTA currently has a very big problem: China. The women are much more dependent than the ATP. The WTA has eleven tournaments in China, the ATP only three. If these eleven tournaments are now canceled due to a possible next lockdown, then the WTA tour will have a problem. And then there is another problem, on a different level: we had a great field of participants for the WTA tournament in Berlin next week. Then Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka cancel. In a nice way - Swiatek sent us a regretful video - but it is precisely this cancellation that hurts. We promoted the Polish market extremely. You have to discuss something like that. And when in doubt, sanction more severely.