WTA Linz: Barbara Haas receives wildcard
Barbara Haas will start at the WTA tournament in Linz thanks to a wildcard.
by PM / tennisnet
last edit: Oct 30, 2020, 11:10 am
Austria's top player Barbara Haas receives a wildcard from tournament director Sandra Reichel for the 30th anniversary, which will be celebrated from November 7th to 15th, 2020 in the TipsArena.
It was a turbulent start to 2020 for the 24-year-old Upper Austrian. After a good start in Australia, Thailand and the small WTA tournament in Indian Wells, the lockdown caused by the corona pandemic followed in March: “I was in the shape of my life and then everything was canceled. For months we didn't know what to do next, ”says Haas, who in spring did not dare to dream of her autumn soaring. She felt “better than ever” before the Corona break.
Then, after the WTA tour continued, things went very fast: For the second time (after 2016 also in Flushing Meadows) Babsi made the jump into the main field of a Grand Slam tournament - at the US Open she slipped straight into the main competition . In the first round, however, Haas faced an overpowering opponent with former world number one Victoria Azarenka from Belarus. 1: 6, 2: 6 was the result against the regained Azarenka, who then reached the final.
Haas in the Grand Slam main draw twice in 2020
Babsi Haas made her second appearance in a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open in Paris, where she fought her way into the "main draw" with three qualifying wins. There she was defeated by Su-Wei in the first round Hsieh from Taiwan with 3: 6, 6: 7. The trips to New York and Paris have always paid off financially, because participation in the main competition alone is endowed with 61,000 US dollars at the US Open and 60,000 euros at the French Open .
It's great that the only WTA tournament in the world is currently being played in Linz.
Barbara Haas
The number 146 in the tennis world has prepared intensively for her home tournament with her trainer Jürgen Waber. “It's great that the only WTA tournament in the world is currently being played here in Linz. I'm very grateful that I got the chance again to be in the main draw thanks to a wildcard, ”says Haas, who is not allowed to be at home in her apartment in Linz during the anniversary tournament“ 30 Years of Upper Austria Ladies Linz ” Player's hotel must move into quarters. True to the motto "safety first".
As a reminder: What did tournament director Sandra Reichel say a year ago? "Maybe Babsi will burst the knot this year in Linz and she will beat a top player after she was very close a few times." For 1:45 hours, the local hero fought with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2019 for a place in the round of 16 of the WTA- Tournament. With 6: 3, 6: 3 the Russian, who won the Linz tennis classic in 2015, had the better end for herself.
"Young Ladies" fight for wild cards
Babsi Haas then experienced a high feeling in the double competition - Haas and her Swiss partner Xenia Knoll had reached the finals to the cheers of many fans. Haas / Knoll prevailed against the Americans Cori "Coco" Gauff / Catherine McNally in the semifinals with 7: 6 (5) 1: 6, 11: 9. In the final, the top seeded Czechs Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova suffered a 4-6, 3-6 defeat after good resistance. The Haas / Knoll duo will also present themselves side by side at the Linz anniversary tournament, thanks to a wildcard from the tournament director!
The prelude to the anniversary tournament has already started today, Friday. In the Froschberg tennis center, eight talented Austrian tennis players will compete for a wildcard in the “Upper Austria Young Ladies Wildcard Challenge” until Saturday: Arabella Koller, Veronika Bokor, Irina Dshandshgava, Anna Groß, Katarina Sopkova, Daniela Glanzer, Ines Faltinger and Sophia Piech. The winner is entitled to participate in the qualification of the WTA tournament.