And we're off! On Sunday at 10 am, the official start signal for the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open 2026 will be given with the start of the qualifiers. At the beginning of the WTA 250 tournament, the focus for Hamburg's tennis fans is likely to be on the total of five German players taking part. Emily Eigelsbach (17 years old/2026 Wimbledon Girls' quarter-finalist), Jule Niemeier (26/2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist), Anna Petkovic (21/local favourite from Der Club an der Alster) and Victoria Brand (16/quarter-finalist at the WT50 in Darmstadt this week) are four players from the German Tennis Federation (DTB) who have received a wildcard for the qualifiers of the traditional event. The German quintet is completed by ex-top-25 player Mona Barthel, who will face Ekaterina Yashina in her opening match. Arantxa Rus (Netherlands), who won the Rothenbaum tournament in 2023, will also be playing in the qualifiers.
Four German players will try their luck on Centre Court from 10 am. To kick things off, Anna Petkovic will face the top seed, Varvara Lepchenko from the USA, on her home court. Following that, Jule Niemeier will compete against Julia Avdeeva, who is seeded third.
At least six Germans in the main draw
Local favourite Tessa Brockmann (20/Billie Jean King Cup Team Germany), Nastasja Schunk (22/ already ranked in the world's top 150), Julia Stusek (18/1. Pro title in June in Klosters) and Valentina Steiner (who celebrated her WTA main draw debut in Hamburg last year) are meanwhile directly in the main draw of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open thanks to a wildcard. Noma Noha Akugue, just like Germany's number one Tamara Korpatsch, has made it into the main draw thanks to her world ranking, meaning at least six German players will be competing.
The main draw takes place on Sunday at 12 noon at the Rothenbaum venue. The first main draw matches are scheduled for Monday from 1:30 p.m.