WTA Hamburg: Noma Noha Akugue and Ella Seidel receive wildcards for qualification
Hamburg's top talents Noma Noha Akugue and Ella Seidel, who are also among the greatest hopes for young talent in Germany, both receive a wild card for the qualification of the Hamburg European Open.
by p.m
last edit:
Jul 13, 2022, 04:49 pm
The now 18-year-old Noma Noha Akugue was German women's champion in 2020. Younger title holders than the then 17-year-old Noma Noha Akugue were only Steffi Graf (15 years) Isabel Cueto (16). The 17-year-old Seidel, who has already been German youth champion twice, recently reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon junior competition. Both serve for the club based on the Rothenbaum facility on the Alster, with which they managed to get promoted to the first Bundesliga this year.
"I'm very happy about the wildcard and looking forward to playing at home again this year. I hope that as many Hamburg tennis fans as possible will support me," said Noma Noha Akugue, who had already received a qualifying wildcard last year. After her German championship title and a sensational appearance at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021 in Stuttgart, when she beat the then top 100 player Margarita Gasparyan in the qualification, her positive development was somewhat halted by a protracted shoulder injury. This year she played hard again. She won a title and reached a final at two ITF 15,000 tournaments in Cairo, Egypt in May. The member of the Porsche Talent Team of the German Tennis Association (DTB) is currently ranked 587th in the WTA world rankings.
Main draw wildcard for Eva Lys
Ella Seidel is currently number 1052 in the women's world rankings and 45th in the U18 world rankings. "I'm really happy about the wildcard. I see this as a great opportunity to play here. I have never played such a big event. The fact that the tournament is taking place in my home country makes it all the better. I'm just happy to be able to play here and gain experience," said Ella Seidel, who was named "Hamburg's Sports Talent of the Year" in 2021. She is currently part of the Porsche Junior Team of the DTB.
"If our tournament can be a springboard for young Hamburg girls who also come from this club, then that's something that fills me with pride," said gymnastics director Sandra Reichel. "All in all, with Tamara Korpatsch, Eva Lys, Noma and Ella, there are four players from the Club an der Alster, which is wonderful for the Hamburg Active City and the Hamburg tennis public." Korpatsch (27, WTA ranking 111) is about her world ranking position directly qualified for the main draw, the reigning German champion Lys (20, WTA ranking 217) receives a main draw wildcard.