The defending champion or Swiatek's friend, the chatterbox or the secret favourite - who will win the semi-finals of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open and advance to the final? At the end of an exciting quarter-final Friday, the winners were: surprisingly Anna Bondar (Hungary) and Kaja Juvan (Slovenia), less surprisingly second seed Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) and Lois Boisson (France).
Bondar and Juvan will contest the first semi-final on the magnificent Centre Court at the Rothenbaum this Saturday from 2pm, Yastremska and Boisson the second. There are four very different types fighting for a ticket to the final.
Anna Bondar prevailed in a dramatic three-set thriller against top seed Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Rothenbaum on Friday (6:7, 6:3, 7:6). "Hamburg is on its way to becoming my favourite tournament," says Bondar. No wonder: she won the singles and doubles here last year and now has the chance to do so again. Alexandrova had previously not lost a set in the tournament. But Bondar always kept her cool in the close match. She secured her match points with a net roller in the tie-break of the third set - and then converted another net roller. "That's tennis, sometimes you get lucky," said Bondar. It was the luck of the brave.
Kaja Juvan won gold in singles and doubles at the 2018 Junior Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. In doubles alongside the newly crowned Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek a week ago.
In recent years, Kaja Juvan has become accustomed to congratulating her good friend Iga Swiatek on her sporting successes more often than the other way round. With her 6:4, 6:7, 6:4 victory over Leyre Romero Gormaz (Spain), Juvan has now reached the semi-finals at the Rothenbaum - and thus created the conditions for Swiatek to congratulate her. "I'm always happy for Iga's victories - and I think Iga is happy for me too," says Juvan.
Dayana Yastremska is not only a very good entertainer on the tennis court, but also on the microphone: open, friendly, charming. After her hard-fought quarter-final victory over Dalma Galfi (7:6, 3:6, 6:2), she revealed how tense she is when her boyfriend David Allakhverdiev is involved in sport. He is an MMA fighter. "It's very difficult for me, I've never seen him fight. We can also get injured in tennis, but we have a distance between us. It's different to being punched in the face." Allakhverdiev sat just a few rows of seats away during her worrying speech. He will fight for the middleweight MMA title in the USA in mid-August. Before that, Yastremska will fight for the title in Hamburg. To do so, however, she would first have to defeat Lois Boisson in the semi-finals.
This is Lois Boisson. She has already won the French clay court tournaments in St. Malo and Saint Gaudens this year and also reached the semi-finals of the French Open. In the quarter-finals at the Rothenbaum, she had dispatched Viktoriya Tomova very dominantly with 6:3 and 6:3. It is likely to be more difficult for the Frenchwoman against Yastremska, who has become one of the crowd favourites in top international tennis with her cool demeanour and varied game.
BONDAR
VS.
ALEXANDROVA
Age: 28
Born in: Szeghalom, Hungary
World ranking position: 77
Greatest success: Winner at the WTA 125 tournament in Hamburg (2024)
Age: 24
Born in: Ljubljana, Slovenia
World ranking position: 207
Greatest success: Finalist at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo (2025)
YASTREMSKA
VS.
GALFI
Age: 22
Born in: Dijon, France
World ranking position: 63
Greatest success: Semi-finalist at the French Open (2025)
Age: 25
Born in: Odessa, Ukraine
World ranking position: 39
Greatest success: Semi-finalist at the Australian Open 2024
On Friday, the Rothenbaum was all about inclusive cooperation: together with the Alexander Otto Sports Foundation, an Inclusion Day was organised as part of the ECE Day.
Numerous Hamburg inclusion clubs and applicants for the Werner Otto Prize were invited to experience world-class tennis live on centre court.
But it wasn't just about watching: visitors were able to get active themselves and show off their ball skills in a variety of hands-on activities.
As a partner of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open, pflanzmich.de brings the green lifestyle to the Rothenbaum and ensures real freshness on and off the court. pflanzmich.de provides flowering eye-catchers around the centre court and lovingly placed details in the public area at the Rothenbaum.
Already discovered it? Westwing, partner of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open, has a very special stand in the Public Village. Follow Andrea Petkovic's example and stop by - it's worth it!
A doubles semi-final that has it all. The second doubles semi-final at the Rothenbaum will be another cracker: the Austrian duo of Sinja Kraus and Julia Grabher will face the singles winners of the last two years, Anna Bondar (2024) and Arantxa Rus (2023).
Nadiia Kichenok (Ukraine) and Makoto Ninomiya (Japan) are already waiting in the final.
A lot goes on behind the scenes at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open - thanks to a well-coordinated team. This week we introduce you to various teams who make a decisive contribution to the tournament being able to take place at all.
Before the tournament, Björn's focus is on staff recruitment and coordination. During the tournament, he ensures that all employees are optimally organised, catered for and looked after. Everything in the hotel and catering area also passes through his hands. After the tournament, the accounts are settled - whether for staff, catering or hotel.
He has been part of the tournament since 2008 - and even if the tasks, processes and challenges change slightly every year, one thing always remains the same: the special pleasure of meeting the "Rothenbaum Team" again.
"It's the unforgettable moments that you experience together and the stories that you can tell over time."
The shuttle team is far more than just a transport service - it is often the first and last contact the players have with the tournament. This makes it all the more important to leave a professional, friendly and lasting impression.
The team coordinates the vehicles of our automotive partner LEXUS, organises the drivers' schedules and ensures that everyone gets from the airport to the hotel, the facility or back on time - and stress-free.
"Can we go back for a moment?" - Flexibility is everything in the shuttle team - because the day rarely has exactly what the timetable has in store. So it's not uncommon for a player to have almost arrived at the course when she suddenly remembers: "I forgot my shoes at the hotel!"
Of course, they don't think twice - the driver does an extra lap with a smile on his face so that nothing is missing on the court.
"If people don't talk about us, then we're doing a good job."
"It's nice to have been part of it since 1995. That makes me one of the old-timers."
The European Summer Cup - Europe's most traditional team competition in junior tennis - has been taking place at the facility since Thursday. Matchmaker Sports GmbH and the DTB were awarded the contract for a qualifying group for the U16 juniors. The European Summer Cup is kindly supported by Claus Heinemann as part of the Hamburg WTA tournament.
The grand final will take place this Saturday: Poland will face Austria (Court 1) for a ticket to the European final in Mariánské Lázně. The German team will battle Latvia (4th place) for third place. The match starts at 09:30. Come along to cheer the girls on loudly!
As the official automobile partner of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open, Lexus combines sporting elegance with technical precision - and brings style, innovation and sustainability to the Rothenbaum.
What does the premium car brand have in common with tennis? A shared DNA: precision, dynamism and the pursuit of perfection.
Lexus stands for pioneering technologies, first-class performance and unforgettable experiences. A match that simply fits.
There are not only real highlights to see on the centre court! The Rothenbaum also attracts visitors away from the matches with exciting activities for young and old! Whether it's autograph sessions, press conferences for students or the draw presented by MSC last Sunday - there's a lot on offer on the court these days. And there will also be plenty of catering: the MSC Bar, the EDEKA Match-Kitchen with wraps, sandwiches and iced drinks, Kaspar Schmauser with delicious and nutritious bowls and desserts, fish sandwiches, pizza and much more - every visitor and employee will find something to suit them!
Tomorrow at 12 noon, Hamburg tennis legend Tommy Haas returns home to play an exhibition against former US Open champion Dominic Thiem on the centre court of the Rothenbaum tennis stadium. As usual, tickets are valid for the whole day, i.e. for both the exhibition and the final matches of the WTA tournament. On this MSC Family Day, all children up to the age of 15 are admitted free of charge.
Whether big or small - all tennis fans got their money's worth at the ECE Day of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open. The focus was particularly on the ECE Kids Camp, where the youngest talents were able to put their skills to the test.
The camp was accompanied by tournament ambassador Andrea Petkovic. Doubles players Nadiia Kichenok and Makoto Ninomiya also dropped by - an unforgettable moment for the tennis stars of tomorrow!
The streaming service Tennis Channel will broadcast all matches live from the Rothenbaum via its platform (www.tennischannel.app). The centre court matches of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open 2025 are also available on Sky Germany live on TV and stream (the matches on the side courts including doubles can also be streamed).
DF1 will show the singles final and the exhibition match between Tommy Haas and Dominic Thiem.
Would you like to find out more about the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open and expand your knowledge of the tournament's top stars and young hopefuls? Then pick up a free copy at the Info-Point! Click on the button to access the online version of our programme.
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