From local to international total tennis. At the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open (13 to 20 July), established world-class players will meet exciting top talents, crowd favourites, newcomers and title collectors for a whole week. The WTA 250 tournament at Hamburg's Rothenbaum has it all. The clay court spectacle was officially opened on Sunday.
Tournament director Sandra Reichel explains that "this tournament is a beacon for women's sport and a project close to our hearts". A beacon with international appeal, as was immediately evident at the official main draw presented by MSC. The draw brought crisp duels and a real scoop. Hamburg local hero Noma Noha Akugue (21), a finalist in 2023, will face defending champion Anna Bondar from Hungary.
"I have a negative record against them, but I'm really looking forward to the game. I'm fit, I'm physically well. And I'm playing at home," explained Noma Noha Akugue. In 2024, she lost to Anna Bondar on hard court in Porto. Will she now get revenge?
Right next to Noma Noha Akugue, Lois Boisson (22) spread anticipation of what was to come and surprised everyone with a North German "Moin" - with a slight French slang. Boisson had sensationally played her way through to the semi-finals at the French Open, where she was a wild card entrant and largely unknown. Since then, she has been one of the new crowd favourites in world tennis. "Clay is my favourite surface," says Boisson. She will be up against the Austrian Julia Grabher. It is the first duel between the two. With the new celebrity comes higher expectations for Boisson. She wants to win at the Rothenbaum.
It won't be easy, because the competition is fierce. First and foremost Ekaterina Alexandrova (30). She has already triumphed against the newly crowned Wimbledon winner Iga Swiatek and has already beaten the world number one Aryna Sabalenka this year. Ranked 17th in the WTA, she is also doing very well in the "Race to the WTA Finals", i.e. the race to qualify for the World Championships, where she is currently ranked eleventh. Alexandrova starts the tournament against a qualifier.
But the line-up for the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open is not only spectacular on an international level, but also from a local perspective. Take Tatjana Maria, for example. Her victory in Queens may have been unexpected. But the 37-year-old is having the tennis summer of her life. This Sunday she will be fighting for her second title in two months in Newport (USA). In Hamburg, her opening hurdle will be the Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova. Maria is still winless against her (0:3) and wants to finally change that.
Eva Lys is from Hamburg and practically grew up at the Rothenbaum. She opens her hunt for the title against the Spaniard Leyre Romero Gormaz. The two have never fought a duel before. Jule Niemeier will play against Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine), Nastasja Schunk against Moyuka Uchijima (Japan) and Tamara Korpatsch against Raluka Serban (Cyprus).
The last German woman to win at the Rothenbaum was Steffi Graf, who triumphed in Hamburg for the sixth time in a row in 1992. The most recent finalists were the current tournament ambassador Andrea Petkovic in 2021 and Noma Noha Akugue in 2023.
Which German could follow?
The matches in the main draw begin on Monday at 1.30 pm at the Rothenbaum.