A total of six grand slam winners will also be in the mix for the long-standing Stuttgart tournament. The winner of the final on 25 April will receive a Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo as the main prize. Below are the most important facts and figures about the event the players once again voted as their favourite tournament in its category.
An event of huge importance for Porsche AG
“The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has a long and seasoned tradition. The tournament serves as an important sporting stage for women’s tennis. It’s also a fantastic showpiece for Porsche and the Stuttgart region, and one with worldwide appeal. For us, it’s important we meet our social responsibilities during the pandemic and hold the tournament. At the same time, we are delighted by the fact that so many top stars will be competing in the Porsche Arena. For everybody involved, it’s a wonderful sign of trust,” says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG.
The world’s elite in the Porsche Arena
The entry list is headed by Ashleigh Barty, the current world No.1. After claiming her first grand slam title at the French Open in Paris, the winner of the 2019 Porsche Race to Shenzhen went on to win the prestigious WTA Finals in the high-tech Chinese city. She will be making her first appearance in Stuttgart as will the American Sofia Kenin, who, as the winner of the Australian Open, was 2020’s most improved player. The group of top favourites also includes the two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep from Romania. Title-holder Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) will also be back in Stuttgart.
Players at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021
Three Germans in the main draw, talented youngsters in qualifying
Joining the Porsche Brand Ambassador and 2015 and 2016 Stuttgart winner Angelique Kerber in the main draw are two other Porsche Team Germany players: Laura Siegemund (the winner in 2017) and Andrea Petkovic, who have each been handed wild cards. Talented youngsters from the German Tennis Association’s U-23 and junior teams will also get a taste of the rarefied WTA air: in qualifying, the Porsche Talent Team’s Nastasja Schunk, Alexandra Vecic and Katharina Gerlach will be aiming to secure a main draw ticket as will the reigning German champion Noma Noha Akugue and Julia Middendorf, who are both supported in the Porsche Junior Team.
Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo for the winner
The winner of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix traditionally receives a Porsche sports car as the main prize. “The nicest winner’s trophy on the WTA Tour” (Angelique Kerber) will have a purely electric drivetrain for the first time. With the recently unveiled Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo at stake, the stars can look forward to a very special winner’s car – and electrifying driving experiences.
“We want to give a degree of normality back to the people”
“Making the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix possible even in these difficult times is something that is dear to our hearts. We would therefore like to spread a sense of confidence and give a degree of normality back to the people,” says Dr Sebastian Rudolph, Vice President Communications, Sustainability and Politics at Porsche AG at the premiere of the new Advantage 911 – The Porsche Tennis Talk, in the Porsche Museum. “As a company, we meet our social responsibilities in many ways. In tennis, we support the German Tennis Association’s Porsche Talent Team and Porsche Junior Team which foster the top up-and-coming German players within professional structures and accompany them on their way to careers as professional tennis players.”
Multi-media tennis experience for fans
Though this year the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has to be staged without spectators, fans will still enjoy an emotional tournament experience. The customised range of multi-media services stretches from the first ever live transmission of every singles match on the tournament’s www.porsche-tennis.com website to a wide range of interactive services. For instance, the livestream can be watched from a variety of camera positions. The tournament draw will also be given a bigger stage this time around: it will take place on Centre Court at 14:00 on qualifying Sunday and will also be shown live on the tournament’s home page. The fans can look forward to the real and virtual participation of top stars such as Angelique Kerber and Ashleigh Barty as well as former tournament winners Julia Görges and Maria Sharapova. On German television, the tournament will be televised by the regional SWR channel, Eurosport and n-tv. It will also go out on the DAZN streaming platform.
Aces for Charity: Porsche to double its donation
The Aces for Charity campaign has been a fixture at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for many years now. For every ace hit during the course of the tournament, Porsche normally donates 100 euros for good causes but this year the company has doubled the sum to 200 euros in view of the special situation. The money is shared equally among the tournament’s charity partners, the Stiftung Agapedia foundation and the Landessportverband Baden-Württemberg. They hope to provide additional sports and recreational activities for children and adolescents to lessen the effects of the pandemic. At the last Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in 2019, the players sent down a total of 212 aces and Porsche rounded the donation up to 30,000 euros.
Service for all the media representatives
A new media hub containing all the relevant information about the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, from press releases, match results and statistics through to audio recordings of press conferences with players and photos is available to journalists at the start of the tournament via the Porsche press data base at presse.porsche.de/mediahub. Further contents can be found in the Porsche Tennis Media Guide.
Porsche in tennis
Porsche has been sponsoring the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix ever since 1978 and has also been the organiser since 2002. The tournament in Stuttgart’s Porsche Arena was voted by the players as their favourite event in its category once again in 2019. Within the scope of its global partnership with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Porsche is also the title partner of the Porsche Race to Shenzhen, the official qualifying ranking for the Shiseido WTA Finals. The Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer is also the exclusive automotive partner of the WTA as well as the WTA Finals, and this year the WTA tournaments in Lyon and St. Petersburg. As a premium partner of the Deutsche Tennis Bund (DTB – German Tennis Association), the company supports Porsche Team Germany in the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly the Fed Cup) and fosters up-and-coming players in the Porsche Talent Team and the Porsche Junior Team. Angelique Kerber, Julia Görges and Maria Sharapova give Porsche a face in tennis as Brand Ambassadors.
