Since 2021, former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic has been the tournament ambassador for the Hamburg WTA tournament. In her debut year, she was still actively playing on the Centre Court and reached the final. Nowadays, the Darmstadt native pulls the strings behind the scenes every year at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open. In an interview before the tournament begins, she talks about the local favourites, former champions, and the fascination of wheelchair tennis.
From a German perspective, Tamara Korpatsch and Noma Noha Akugue are certain to be at the WTA 250 tournament. How should the two be assessed?
„They are both from Hamburg, both local favourites. Noma reached the final at Rothenbaum three years ago. After that, she had a bit of a dry spell, but has really found her form again, which is why I think she's capable of a lot. She's very strong on clay and an incredible athlete. The same applies to Tamara. She's an absolute clay-court specialist and can drive any opponent to despair. She fights like a bull, and I believe that both of them can cause surprises, and I'm looking forward to seeing them play again.“
With Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Anna Bondar, two former champions are also returning. What do you think they are capable of?
„Gabi Ruse has played some really good tennis this year. Anna Bondar too, she took Elina Svitolina to the brink of defeat at the French Open, losing narrowly 6-7 in the third set. She really gained a lot from her singles and doubles win in Hamburg in 2024. Last year she was back in the final and only just lost to Lois Boisson. So you can say that she always plays well in Hamburg.
Just a few weeks ago, Ruse made it to the semi-finals from qualifying in Bad Homburg. She definitely likes the tournaments in Germany and won her only title to date in Hamburg. Something about Germany drives her to peak performance. I know her quite well; after all, I lost to her in the final at Rothenbaum back then (laughs). She just enjoys playing in Germany, which is why she'll undoubtedly have a really good tournament again this year.“
This year, the tournament is once again a „Combined Event“, as the Hamburg Wheelchair Open, the largest German women's wheelchair tennis tournament, will be held from 23 to 26 July alongside the WTA event. Have you had the chance to watch wheelchair tennis live yet?
„I regularly watch wheelchair tennis matches at the Grand Slam tournaments. I'm very fortunate to usually be there when wheelchair tennis is celebrated, especially in Australia. But now it has arrived at the other Grand Slams too; in Paris, it's also being played on the big courts.
I would like to invite all fans to come and watch wheelchair tennis if you haven't seen it live before. It's truly fascinating what the players do on the court, how fast they are, how quickly they move in their wheelchairs and still manage to hit the ball, how fast the serves are – so I can really recommend it to every tennis fan in Hamburg to go and watch. World-class players will be serving, really big stars of the wheelchair tennis scene. Therefore, for anyone who hasn't seen it before: this is your ticket to it in Hamburg.“