WTA: Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova serves in Bad Homburg
Another prominent starter has announced herself for the first edition of the WTA Tour 250 tournament in Bad Homburg: Petra Kvitova, two-time Wimbledon winner from the Czech Republic.
by PM
last edit: Apr 15, 2021, 10:57 am
Tennis is returning home from June 20-26, 2021. The first tennis players started playing in the historic Bad Homburg Kurpark as early as 1876 - this tradition is now being revived. The tournament has been officially confirmed in the WTA tour calendar and will take place for the first time this summer.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova comes to the Kurpark
A top-class field of participants with top stars is guaranteed at the premiere of the Bad Homburg Open. After Angelique Kerber, Wimbledon winner of 2018, and the German top player Andrea Petkovic have already given their approval for the first lawn tennis tournament in Hesse, it is now clear that with Petra Kvitova another Wimbledon winner will add to the field of participants in Bad Homburg
"I am very happy to play in the first edition of the Bad Homburg Open"
With the participation of the top Czech player, fans can look forward to one of the most successful lawn players in recent years. The 31-year-old was crowned winner at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. So she is also one of the top favorites for the title at the WTA 250 event in Bad Homburg. "I am very happy to be playing in the first edition of the Bad Homburg Open," explains Kvitova. The left-hander also reveals that it's always exciting "to play at a new tournament and especially when it's a lawn tournament with such a great background story."
After the missed grass season last year, Kvitova is now all the more pleased to start her preparation for Wimbledon in front of her German fans. Tournament director Aljoscha Thron is also hoping for special highlights at the Bad Homburg Open: "With Petra Kvitova we were able to win one of the most popular and successful players of the last few years on the WTA Tour for our tournament."
Petkovic is looking forward to the home tournament
“Today's announcement that the two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova will be among the participants in the Bad Homburg Open is a major coup for the tournament,” comments Sally Bolton, Managing Director of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) happily and adds: “ We are very pleased that Petra is doing the same as the former Wimbledon winner and former number 1, Angelique Kerber, and will be there at the premiere. " Especially for the fans, the participation of two of the world's best lawn players on the pitches of the TC Bad Homburg is a special highlight. "The All England Club has been working closely with the organizers and promoters for the past two years and we thank them for helping to establish a high-quality grass season right before the Wimbledon Championships."
Another important commitment is Andrea Petkovic's participation in her home tournament in Hesse. “I'm really looking forward to the Bad Homburg Open. As a tennis player it is unfortunately not as natural as in other sports that you have home games and I think 35 minutes by car is clearly within the home radius ”, the former top 10 player and French Open semi-finalist from 2014 notes.
Bad Homburg Open live on free TV at Eurosport and on hr / ERSTEN
The partner package is rounded off by the renowned media partners of the Bad Homburg Open. So that all tennis fans can watch the premiere of the Bad Homburg Open from home, the TV partner is Eurosport show two live games every day on free TV and via free live stream. The TV broadcast is complemented by the Hessischer Rundfunk: "We are pleased to be able to accompany this new and high-ranking tennis tournament with us in Hesse on our play paths across media", reveals the sports director of the Hessischer Rundfunk, Marcus Augustin, and adds: "With the highlights At the end of the live broadcasts of the semi-finals, both on hr-fernsehen and the streams on hessenschau.de and sportschau.de, as well as the finals with German participation in ERSTEN, we would like to offer a wide range of programs to a broad audience beautiful spa gardens provide an attractive setting for entertaining and exciting reporting. The media partners Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Hesse's largest radio station FFH, with 2.6 million listeners a day, also ensure high-coverage, high-quality coverage of the tournament.
Planning in different scenarios
The imponderables in connection with the further course of the infection process of the COVID 19 pandemic continue to present the organizers with major challenges. To ensure that the Bad Homburg Open runs smoothly, the organizers are planning on the basis of current developments in various scenarios and an included hygiene concept. Depending on further developments, a decision will be made in the coming weeks as to which audience capacity can be planned for June. All further information on how to proceed with tickets that have already been purchased will be communicated to all ticket holders in the coming weeks.
“Tennis lives from its fans, because it is they who bring the special atmosphere into the stadium”, says tournament director Thron and adds: “We are working closely with the authorities on an intensive hygiene and test concept in order to get our premiere off to a worthy start enable. Of course, safety has top priority. "
The city of Bad Homburg also stands by the tournament with a helping hand. The Lord Mayor Alexander Hetjes is already very much looking forward to the first edition of the Bad Homburg Open: "In whatever form - we will support the tournament organizers as much as we can." The mayor fondly remembers the opening of the Spielbank Bad Homburg - Center Court in summer: “The opening event last year was a lot of fun. I hope that we can follow up on moments like this.
KEY FACTS BAD HOMBURG OPEN
Date: June 20-26, 2021
Category: WTA 250 Event
Prize money: $ 235,238
Field of participants : 32 players (singles), 16 couples (doubles)
capacity Center Court : approx. 3,500 spectators
Attachment: TC Bad Homburg
Tournament director: Dr. Alyosha throne
Organizer: Perfect Match GmbH, AK Management GmbH
Owner: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Homepage:www.badhomburg-open.de