Nine Top 10 players to compete for Berlins tennis crown
The bett1open2023 presented by ecotrans Group will be a real tennis spectacle. Nine players from the top ten have entered, led by Aryna Sabalenka. The 25-year-old world number two has won the Australian Open, the first and so far only Grand Slam tournament of the year, and is also number one in the 2023 price money rankings.
You also want to see the reigning Wimbledon champion live? No problem. Elena Rybakina (23/WTA rank 4) from Kazakhstan will also show up. So will the French world champion Carolina Garcia (29/WTA rank 5), as well as the US top stars Jessica Pegula (29/WTA rank 3) and Coco Gauff (19/WTA rank 6). Tunisian crowd favorite Ons Jabeur (28/WTA rank 7) enters the race as the defending champion. The 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist is already looking forward to her return to Berlin: "Winning in 2022 was outstanding for me. That success gave me a lot of confidence in trying to play better on grass." And she will have to play her very best tennis to have a chance at defending the title. The world-class field of competitors makes that imperative.
Maria Sakkari (27/WTA rank 8) is the first Greek ever to make it into the top 10 in world tennis. She, Daria Kasatkina (26/WTA rank 9) and Petra Kvitova (33/WTA rank 10) complete the field of top 10 players. The Czech Kvitova had won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, about a decade later she is still absolutely capable of winning at the highest level. She just proved that with her triumph at the Miami Open.
A total of six Grand Slam winners will compete at the bett1open presented by ecotrans Group: In addition to Sabalenka, Rybakina and Kvitova also: Victoria Azarenka (33/WTA rank 18). She triumphed at the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013 and made it to the semifinals this year again. In addition, the US American Sloane Stephens (30/WTA rank 35) and the Canadian Bianca Andreescu (22/WTA rank 41), the US Open winners of 2017 and 2019, will play in Berlin. Of course, the reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic (26/WTA rank 12) is also back in Berlin on a title mission. The Swiss had lost the final in both 2022 and 2021.
Tournament director Barbara Rittner, who is also the head national coach of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), is pleased that "the best in the world are very happy to come to our tournament in Berlin”.
Qinwen Zheng's appearance is also eagerly awaited. The 19-year-old is China's number one and has already climbed to number 20 in the world rankings. As the WTA Newcomer of 2022, Zheng is considered a potential superstar and title collector. Perhaps it will already work out this year in Berlin? After all, the Steffi Graf Stadium is also a place for sensations. In 2021, Liudmila Samsonova (24/WTA rank 15) started as qualifier – and ended up winning the title.
"Fighting always helps," says local hero Sabine Lisicki (33), who will also serve in her hometown of Berlin at her home club. The 2013 Wimbledon finalist trains doggedly and meticulously to be successful on her favorite surface, grass, even against top competition.
In short: superstars, serial winners, sensational winners, super talents, comeback fighters - they are all in action at the bett1open presented by ecotrans Group. The demand for tickets for this spectacular tennis week in the heart of Berlin is correspondingly strong.