8 Top-Ten players to grace premiere of the bett1open
The entry list is led by the two currently best players in the world: Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka. Porsche announced as new gold partner of the bett1open.
The tennis elite will meet at the bett1open in Berlin! In only 24 days the WTA 500 tournament will celebrate its premiere on the grass courts of the LTTC “Rot-Weiß” e.V. (12th-20th June 2021). The roster of players will have fans’ eyes shine. “We have eight (8) of the Top 10 players in the world coming to Berlin. Adding the German number 1, Angelique Kerber, and you get a word-class tennis festival”, says tournament director Barbara Rittner.
Besides the current No.1 and No.2 in the world, Ashleigh Barty (Australia/1) and Naomi Osaka (Japan/2), Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus/4), Sofia Kenin (USA/5), Elina Svitolina (Ukraine/6), Bianca Andreescu (CAN/7), Iga Swiatek (Poland/9) and Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic/10) have committed to the tournament.
The field is completed by the Top 20 players Belinda Bencic (Switzerland/11), Petra Kvitova (Czech Repulic/12), Garbine Muguruza (Spain/13), Jennifer Brady (USA/14), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus/16), Maria Sakkari (Greece/18) and Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic/19). Altogether, there will be 15 players out of the Top 20 in the world playing in Berlin! “I’m looking forward to see all those great players in our traditional Steffi-Graf-Stadium”, says Rittner. “I am proud of this group of players, which is not a given.” The quality of the entry list underlines the fact that the participants of the bett1open have won 17 Grand Slam singles titles together.
Angelique Kerber – the German figurehead
“The top-class entry list and Angelique Kerber as German figurehead promise world-class tennis. We all hope to welcome fans to the premiere of the bett1open, so that the fans and the players can celebrate the return of women’s tennis to Berlin together”, explains Adam Szpyt, founder and CEO of bett1.de.
Edwin Weindorfer, CEO of the e|motion group and organizer of the bett1open can barely hide his excitement: “Together with bett1 and despite the difficult situation, we managed to put together an extraordinary event, which will bring Grand Slam flair to Berlin just shortly before the season’s highlight in Wimbledon. The first edition of a tournament couldn’t boast a better entry list then we do.”
33-year old Kerber, Wimbledon winner of 2018, is currently ranked no. 26 in the world and could follow in the footsteps of Steffi Graf, who was the last German player to win the women’s tournament in Berlin (1996) – back then still on clay court!
Porsche new gold partner of the bett1open
Porsche expands its commitment to women’s tennis and becomes the new gold partner of the bett1open in Berlin through its subsidiary Porsche Deutschland GmbH. The sportscar manufacturer has been sponsor of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix since 1978, also becoming the organizer in 2002. In 2012 the premium manufacturer became partner of the German Tennis Federation (DTB). Five years later Porsche became the global partner of the WTA and title sponsor of the “Porsche Race to Shenzen”, the qualifying road for the WTA finals at the end of the year. Currently, this race is led by 6 players who will play in Berlin.
“We are delighted to be partner of the bett1open with our Porsche centers in Berlin and thus expand our commitment to tennis even more”, says Alexander Pollich, chairman of the executive board of Porsche Deutschland GmbH. “Especially during these times we are striving towards offering women’s tennis in Germany a stage.”
Top-class tennis paired with sportainment and lots of innovations on and off the grass courts
The bett1open in Berlin are synonymous for women’s tennis on the highest level, as well as one-of-a-kind sportainment, consisting of music, art & culture. For the first time during a women’s tournament, a live band will entertain during the matches on the center court. In Germany, ServusTV will broadcast the matches of the bett1open on Free TV. The WTA tournament will be produced with eleven cameras and broadcasted to 120 countries all over the world.
In order to have the tournament fulfill the best possible security and safety for all people involved, the organizing e|motion group relies on the already successfully tested hygiene and safety concept which has already been implemented during last year’s bett1ACES in Berlin and the bett1HULKS in Cologne and allowed for a safe realization of the tournaments even during the pandemic. This concept has been updated to the newest standards and expanded to the specifications of the WTA. Admission of the audience will depend on the effective SARS-CoV-2 infection decree of Berlin’s senate. The relevant scenarios have already been worked out and are continuously adapted to the dynamic of the pandemic.