It is already certain that a German player will reach the quarter-finals of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open 2026! Hamburg's Tamara Korpatsch and Julia Stusek will duel today for a place in the last eight. Noma Noha Akugue, who is facing last year's finalist Anna Bondar today, would also love to be there.
However, the day on Centre Court will begin with two players who only flew into Hamburg on Monday evening. Mayar Sherif and Paula Badosa, after a completely rain-soaked Sunday, only contested their final in Iasi, Romania, on Monday morning before the duo travelled together to the Elbe on a private jet. Today, Sherif, the greatest Egyptian tennis player of all time, opens against Swiss player Simona Waltert, who lost in the final in Bastad two weeks ago to former world number two Badosa. Although the Spaniard had to retire in the second set of her final match in Iasi on Monday, the former world number two has since recovered well and is perfectly prepared for her next challenge against Poland's Katarzyna Kawa.
Badosa is clearly showing an upward trend in form and, after many injury-related setbacks, has returned to the Top 100. Her goal is clear: Paula wants to get back to the very top and take the next step in Hamburg!
Meanwhile, Julia Stusek is determined to pick up where she left off on Monday evening! The 18-year-old celebrated her very first main draw victory at a WTA tournament thanks to a truly courageous performance. The player from Rheinfelden is playing aggressively here in Hamburg, moving well, and therefore also possesses enormous defensive qualities.
A description that also applies, or similarly applies, to the incredibly strong fighter Tamara Korpatsch. On Tuesday, the 31-year-old was already 4:6, 1:3 down against Victoria Kasintseva from Andorra, but turned the match back on its head, winning the second set 7:5 and shortly thereafter benefiting from her opponent's retirement due to cramps. „I'm happy to be in the round of 16, but of course I would have preferred to win normally. I feel at home here, this is my club and the support of the fans was really great,“ Korpatsch thanked her home crowd.
Noma Noha Akugue is once again counting on her support today. After her hard-fought three-set victory against a strong Valentina Steiner, the 2023 finalist now faces an even bigger hurdle in Anna Bondar and unfinished business. „Last year I lost to Anna here in the first round in a third-set tie-break. Hopefully it will go better this time,“ says the 22-year-old confidently looking ahead to the duel with the Hungarian. And she has every reason to. By climbing to 136th place, the Reinbek native has already secured a new personal best in the world rankings. With that, she can play with real freedom and set her sights on the quarter-finals – all fingers are firmly crossed for the Germans!
Match Of the Day
Age: 31
Born in: Hamburg, Germany
World ranking position: 81
Greatest success: Third round at Roland Garros (2026)
Age: 18
Born in: Rheinfelden, Germany
World ranking position: 438
Greatest success: W35 Tournament win in Klosters 2026
They gave it their all, but in the end, it just wasn't quite enough… For wild-card players Valentina Steiner and Nastasja Schunk, and for the two qualifiers Mona Barthel and Jule Niemeier, the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open ended after the 1st round. The quartet put up a strong fight. For example, Schunk passionately went head-to-head with top seed Oleksandra Oliynykova, forcing a third set, but ultimately lost by the narrowest of margins after more than two and a half hours, 2:6, 6:3, and 5:7. Such a shame Nasti, that was soooo close!
Hardly any player has had to experience so many highs and lows in her career as Paula Badosa. Today, the 28-year-old Spaniard, who has an impressive career record with her, celebrates her Hamburg debut.
Sinja Kraus has taken her momentum from Sunday's tournament victory in Kitzbühel to Hamburg and also made it through a minor scare. In her match against Darija Semenistaja, she complained of circulatory problems after the second set, but ultimately won convincingly with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. „It was just a bit much the last few days. All the emotions after the victory in Kitzbühel, which meant a lot to me. But I'm feeling better now. I need to get used to the conditions here, so the three sets today might have helped too,“ concluded the 24-year-old, who also recently celebrated her main draw debuts at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The US Open are also not far off, but first, she has big plans at the Rothenbaum!
Hamburg is practically a home game for Kraus; after all, Sandra Reichel also hails from Austria and is the tournament director for the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Furthermore, Sinja Kraus has been coached for the past few months by German Alex Grau. „We don't have a classic trainer-player relationship; it's much more of a friendship. We learn a lot from each other,“ Grau summarises.
Daycare instead of tennis was on the agenda yesterday for DTB talent Victoria Brand and the two Chinese wheelchair tennis players Luoyao Guo and Zhenzhen Zhu: During a tour of Hagenbeck Zoo, the players fed elephants and experienced the curious ring-tailed lemurs up close.
Families, take note: From Thursday, the LI School, in cooperation with Hagenbeck Zoo, will be inviting children to playful movement and participatory activities revolving around the abilities of various animals at the Rothenbaum tennis complex.
This long-standing partnership is entering its next round: Dunlop is once again the official ball partner of the tournament this year.
Anyone looking for new tennis equipment for their game should definitely visit the Public Village. Whether it's a new pair of shoes, rackets, or a bag, Dunlop has something suitable for every tennis fan.
Tamara Korpatsch's tournament companion attracted considerable attention yesterday morning during a tour of the Public Village. Fully integrated into Team Korpatsch, the four-legged friend otherwise provides mental support on tour.
Do you have nothing planned for Sunday? Then head to Hamburger Rothenbaum! Before the singles final (12 noon), Martina Hingis and Andrea Petkovic will face each other in a show match.
Tickets for the final day are also valid for the show match and can be purchased from the online ticket shop. Children and young people up to the age of 16 have free entry on the final day.
Anna, what's the best way to combine school and a sporting career? Do you prefer Messi or Ronaldo?
During the meet and greet with the aid organisation Plan International, the Hungarian answered the children's questions. Furthermore, the young sports enthusiasts tested their ball skills in mini-tennis and on an obstacle course. The joint photo with the professional player subsequently caused quite a stir.
Julia Stusek took time for her fans on Monday. There was a meet and greet with the young German Tennis Association (DTB) player at the MSC Bar, complete with autographs and souvenir photos. A day to remember!
With Aniek van Koot and Lizzy de Greef, the top class of Dutch wheelchair tennis has now also arrived in Hamburg. On Tuesday afternoon, the two were warmly welcomed at the official players' hotel, Grand Elysée, on Rothenbaumchaussee.
De Greef, a two-time junior world champion and sixth in the world rankings, will start the Hamburg Wheelchair Open as the second youngest on Thursday. The 35-year-old van Koot, fifth in the world rankings, leads the high-calibre field of participants as the top seed.
Members of „Team Hamburg 040“, a support project of the Hamburg Sports Foundation, which prepares elite athletes for Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as international championships, visited Hamburg's Rothenbaum yesterday and took a close look at the tennis professionals' rackets. Also present were (from left) Managing Director Alexander Harms, Maximilian Gillmann (rowing), Nikolaos Kosmadakis (boxing), Hugo Thomas (rowing), Sandra Reichel (tournament director) and cyclist Eike Behrens.
Up to and including Friday, all tennis fans can follow the matches on outer courts M1 and M2 free of charge.
Ground tickets are available at the box office. We look forward to seeing you at the Rothenbaum!
The MSC Hamburg Ladies Open will be broadcast in Germany on Sky.
Would you like to learn more about the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open and Hamburg Wheelchair Open, and expand your knowledge about the top stars and rising hopes? Then grab a free copy at the Info Point! Clicking the button will also take you to the online version of our programme booklet.
