Preview after review: bett1open presented by ecotrans Group 2024 from 15 - 23 June
Petra Kvitova arrived at the bett1open presented by ecotrans Group as number nine in the WTA world rankings. With eight players from the top 10 at the start, she was at best one of the extended group of title contenders. But the Czech triumphed, beating Donna Vekic in the final.
That's why Kvitova is also considered one of the first aspirants for the greatest success in world tennis at Wimbledon, where she already won in 2011 and 2014. Because whoever is convincing on the grass of the Steffi Graf Stadium also has real chances at Wimbledon. Ons Jabeur, winner in Berlin in 2022, also made it to the final in Wimbledon last year.
The bett1open presented by ecotrans Group is becoming more and more a fixture of the grass court season. Players, fans, politicians, celebrities - they are all drawn to the LTTC "Rot-Weiß" e. V. Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner presented himself as a tennis fan, speaking at the opening and the award ceremony and raving: "Berlin virtually lends itself to international tennis tournaments." Rock icon and actor Marius Müller-Westernhagen probably sees it similarly. The superstar dropped by almost daily, even observing training sessions.
In 2024, the tournament will be held from June 15-23. Anticipation is already worthwhile.
Almost 30,000 spectators attended the tournament this year. Even the completely rainy Friday could not dampen the mood. On the contrary, the quarterfinals and semifinals were played on Saturday in one day. This Saturday became a tennis festival day, which was perceived by some observers as the best Berlin tennis day ever. It will go down in the history of the tournament as "Super Saturday".
Tournament director Barbara Rittner, also head national coach in the DTB, was generally pleased: "The players' field delivered what it promised. There were great, close, exciting matches. The feedback from the players and also from the WTA was super, super positive." Dr. Dietrich Wolter, the president of the host LTTC "Rot-Weiß" e. V. was happy to hear that. He summed up with satisfaction that "the tournament has arrived at our club and in Berlin". Edwin Weindorfer, the CEO of the emotion group, the promoter of the tournament, wishes with a view to 2024: "A quarterfinal or semifinal with German participation would be good."
Who knows, maybe that's exactly what Jule Niemeier could have achieved. But after her sensational victory over defending champion Ons Jabeur, she had to retire injured in the round of 16 against Marketa Vondrousova. That was the biggest shock moment of the tennis week in the Steffi Graf Stadium.
Overall, Weindorfer believes the tournament is on an excellent path because "the best players in the world come to us. We deliver." In 2024, the bett1open presented by ecotrans Group will deliver again: World-class tennis, world-class line-up in the world-class city of Berlin.