The title at the inaugural Hamburg Wheelchair Open, Germany's largest women's wheelchair tennis tournament, is definitely going to the Netherlands. The two top seeds will face each other in the final of the Premier Tour event on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on the Centre Court. World number four Aniek van Koot will take on Lizzy de Greef, who is ranked sixth. While van Koot won her semi-final against France's Ksenia Chasteau 6-2, 7-6, Lizzy de Greef won a close encounter against China's Zhenzhen Zhu 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
„It's so special for us to play here in Hamburg! That's why I'm so pleased that I've made it to the final in the first edition. I will fight for the title and this special memory,“ van Koot looks ahead to the big final. „It means a lot to me to contribute to the visibility of wheelchair tennis with my athletic performance in this great inclusive tournament format. I want to use the stage of the final to show Hamburg my best tennis,“ de Greef is also already hugely looking forward to the duel with her compatriot.
Niklas Höfken, the sporting director of the Hamburg Wheelchair Open, shares this anticipation: „I'm delighted about this absolutely top-class final: the fourth and sixth players in the world promise incredible tennis. Aniek is the far more experienced player and also statistically has the edge in direct comparisons between the two. On the other hand, Lizzy has played an impressive tournament so far and already eliminated a left-handed player in the semi-finals – perhaps she can bring that energy onto the court again against another left-handed player. I would be equally happy for either of these two great wheelchair tennis players to win the tournament here in Hamburg.“
In the doubles final this afternoon, the Dutch pair Jinte Bos and Lizzy de Greef will face Ksenia Chasteau of France and Great Britain's Lucy Shuker. Even before the final day, Dietloff von Arnim, President of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), expressed his complete impressiveness with the debut edition of the Hamburg Wheelchair Open. „The Hamburg Wheelchair Open was a great asset to Hamburg as a tennis destination. The event impressively demonstrated that elite sport, diversity, and inclusion can be conceived and lived together. The fact that WTA tennis and wheelchair tennis, featuring former world number ones and Grand Slam champions, are taking place on the same stage sends a strong signal of the openness and diversity of our sport. The MSC Hamburg Ladies Open has therefore set a great example,“ concluded von Arnim.