Andrea Petkovic has been a tournament ambassador at the Hamburg WTA tournament since 2021. In her debut year, she even played on centre court and made it to the final. The Darmstadt native has now ended her active career and is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Andrea, it's already Your fifth year as a tournament ambassador at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open. How do you interpret You did the job, how did it develop and what did Maybe you've learnt something too?
"I now know much better how a tournament works organisationally. In my first year, I honestly didn't have a plan at all. Whether it was about finding sponsors, the tournament schedule or making the players happy. I think I learnt a lot about how a tournament is organised in the background."
After the kick-off press conference in April this year, you had the chance to play a very special match at a container terminal in Waltershof. A tennis court was set up there in the middle of containers. What was that experience like?
"That was really cool! At least for me, who doesn't live in Hamburg, you usually see containers on TV or in pictures in the newspaper and then to stand in front of them was really impressive. When I read in a newspaper article, for example, how many containers are transported, it took on a whole new dimension for me. Playing tennis in this place also makes for great pictures, of course, and I won't forget it."
At the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open, many players are with great Stories at the start. Eva Lys as "Lucky Lys" at the Australian Open, Lois Boisson was in the semi-finals of Roland Garros, Tatjana Maria is the "Queenof Queens". And Laura Siegemund, who was only stopped by world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. What is your Favourite story?
"Phew, good question. We also have Xinju Wang, who reached the final of the Berlin Tennis Open. That was also a great achievement. I would say that all of them unite the versatility of tennis in their own way. Eva Lys with a bit of luck, but then with a lot of skill in Australia, then we have Lois Boisson, who made a comeback of the finest kind after a difficult knee injury and a torn cruciate ligament, and then of course Tatjana Maria as the 'Queen of Queens' and Laura Siegemund, who played really fantastically at Wimbledon."
If you had to decide right now, who could be in the final and win the title?
"My money is actually on Lois Boisson. Yes, she lost early in qualifying at Wimbledon, but I believe that grass is also the worst possible surface for her game. I think she was born to play on clay. Lois Boisson's strong forehand, her athleticism, then her feel for the breaks, all of that is very much in favour of her being most comfortable on clay. I believe that once she has digested the French Open and perhaps taken a bit of a holiday, she will certainly be back to 100 per cent in Hamburg."
What is now Your biggest wish for the tournament?
"No rain, exactly 25 degrees every day and a few clouds. If the weather is right, all the conditions are there for us to see top tennis. And that's what I'm looking forward to."