Lois Boisson doses her emotions very sparingly. The Frenchwoman is a model of coolness. But on Sunday afternoon it burst out of her: a scream, a fist raised to the sky. And a grateful wave to all four stands at the Rothenbaum, from which she received thunderous applause. Lois Boisson had won the first major title of her career in Hamburg. She defeated the defending champion Anna Bondar 7:5 and 6:3 in a thrilling final and was rewarded with a prize money of 31565 euros - and an Explora cruise voucher. So from Hamburg, cast off for a great career!
"For me, Lois is a player who has the potential to break into the top 10 of the world rankings," says tournament ambassador Andrea Petkovic. The trend is right: Boisson has now jumped from 361st to 44th place in the space of a year.
The Boisson triumph continues a series. Since the tournament was revived in Germany's largest clay court stadium in 2021, there has been a new title winner every year. "I'm very happy that I was able to win here," said Boisson. At the start of the match, it certainly didn't look like a success for the French Open semi-finalist.
Anna Bondar got off to a much better start, leading 4:0 after 15 minutes. "I didn't feel comfortable at the beginning and had to change something," said Boisson. She managed to do that: more variations, more hardness and length in her shots. And so she turned round a set that seemed lost. She equalised at 5:5 and went on to win 7:5.
Both opponents were not afraid to take risks and continued to play attacking tennis. But Bondar was unable to return to her dominant role of the opening phase. And so Lois Boisson triumphed 6:3.
"Lois is a fantastic player," Bondar congratulated her fairly. Afterwards, a few tears ran down her cheeks. It had been an emotionally upsetting week at the tournament for the Hungarian.
And she had to focus quickly again: Because Bondar - alongside Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) - also had to defend her title in the doubles. That also failed. Both lost to the Ukrainian-Japanese pairing of Nadiia Kichenok/Makoto Ninomiya 4:6 and 6:3 and 9:11 in the match tie-break - in which they missed two match points.
At the final press conference, the faces were as beaming as Lois Boisson's at the award ceremony on centre court. Tournament director Sandra Reichel stated: "We've seen some world-class tennis at the highest level here. It was really great sport."
18,000 spectators made their way to the Rothenbaum during the week of the tournament and the TV pictures were broadcast to almost 200 countries around the world. "This tournament also has enormous international appeal," says Reichel and promises: "We want to continue to grow so that the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open becomes even more of a fixture in the international and Hamburg sporting year."
The plan is to organise a wheelchair tournament with prize money and world ranking points as early as next year. Negotiations are already underway with the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Dietloff von Arnim, President of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), believes the tournament is on the right track and revealed: "I know that the title sponsor MSC is also very satisfied." This is fundamental for the development of the tournament.
Of course, there is also a shared desire for German players to be successful at the Rothenbaum in the future. This year, seven DTB professionals competed in the main draw and six in the qualifying round. Although the round of 16 took place without any German players (also because Eva Lys, Laura Siegemund and Ella Seidel were unable to compete), the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open should continue to be a stage for German players. Especially as von Arnim was encouraging: "Many German players are on their way to the top."
Andrea Petkovic had travelled straight from Wimbledon to the Rothenbaum - and was impressed by the level of play: "It was world class. We had a very, very positive week at the tournament." And not just from a sporting perspective: "I was most pleased to see so many children and young people. That's the future."
A future "for which we still have many ideas", as Sandra Reichel promised. DTB President Dietloff von Arnim was delighted to hear this: "Our sincere thanks go to Sandra Reichel and her team for what they have organised here."
Tommy Haas was also grateful. That he was allowed to play at the Rothenbaum again. Born in the Hanseatic city, at home in the world. Tommy Haas once moved from Hamburg to become one of the best tennis players of his generation: Ranked second in the world rankings, Wimbledon semi-finalist, Olympic silver medallist. He is now 47 years old.
But in the exhibition match against Dominic Thiem (31), the 2020 US Open winner, Haas played as if he had sprung from a fountain of youth: agile, athletic - impressive. Haas won 6:2 and 6:4.
The two former world-class players provided the best entertainment for over an hour - as a warm-up for the women's final - and afterwards Thiem revealed: "I would have liked to have had Tommy as my coach a few years ago, we had thought about it." It didn't materialise in the end, but - according to Haas - "I am and always have been a fan of Dominic as a player and a person.
Dominic Thiem and Tommy Haas, two players who have remained at the top of the tennis world for years. Lois Boisson reached the world's top 50 for the first time with her triumph in Hamburg. Where will she be when she defends her title at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open 2026?