Also included in the exclusive starting line-up at the 45th edition of the time-honoured tournament are Porsche Brand Ambassadors Angelique Kerber as the German number one and Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who sensationally won the 2021 US Open. Awaiting the winner of the WTA 500 tournament is a Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo as the main prize.
The entry list published by the WTA is headed by Poland’s Iga Swiatek. The 2020 French Open champion is currently the world number two and won the tournament in Indian Wells on Sunday. Her opponent in the final Maria Sakkari (No. 3) is the first Greek woman to break into the world’s Top 10. Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic/No. 4) hit the headlines at the 2021 French Open when winning both the singles and doubles titles. Other Top 10 players at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix are last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka (No. 5), Paula Badosa (Spain/No. 6), Anett Kontaveit (Estonia/No. 7), Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic/No. 8), the 2018 Stuttgart winner, and Ons Jabeur (Tunisia/Nr. 10), the first Arab player in the Top 10.
Making their debuts at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix are two players who are giving the future of women’s tennis a face. The 19-year-old Emma Raducanu, who was presented as a new Porsche Brand Ambassador on Monday, is currently world-ranked No 13.
USA’s Cori Gauff, who only recently turned 18, is placed only four positions behind her. Amongst the 17 Top 20 players set to appear in the Porsche Arena is also Danielle Collins (USA/No. 11) who stood in the final of the Australian Open in January.
“We’ve got a sensational field and spectators back in the indoor arena, one couldn’t wish for more,” says Tournament Director Markus Günthardt. “The fact that virtually all the Top 20 will be contesting our tournament is amazing. The players love coming to us because they feel at home here. We offer them conditions in which they can perform at their best and our crowd also creates a fantastic atmosphere, no matter whether there are two stars or two qualifiers on court. The players know that such an atmosphere is not one they get to experience at many of the world’s tournaments.”
Six Grand Slam winners
Alongside Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Raducanu, three other Grand Slam champions will be playing at the tournament in the Porsche Arena: Angelique Kerber won the Australian Open and the US Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2018, Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) triumphed at the 2017 French Open and Victoria Azarenka took the title at the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open. Three former Stuttgart winners are also in the line-up – Angelique Kerber (2015, 2016), Karolina Pliskova (2018) and Laura Siegemund (2017), who has been given a wild card.
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will begin on Saturday, 16 April with the first round of qualifying. The final will take place on 24 April. In Germany, Eurosport will televise the most important matches live. There are livestreams on Tennis Channel as well as on Porsche Tennis TV at www.porsche-tennis.com.
Advance ticket sales
Tickets for the 45th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix from 16 to 24 April are available at Easy Ticket Service by calling +49 711 / 2 55 55 55 or in Internet at www.easyticket.de. Also available are tickets for the Final Four Tournament for the German Badminton Championship that will be held in conjunction with the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Court 1 on 22 and 23 April. The number of spectators allowed in the Porsche Arena will be determined by the latest Corona regulations issued by the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.
45th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: the Entry List
Position | WTA-Ranking | Name | Nation |
1 | 2 | Swiatek, Iga | POL |
2 | 3 | Sakkari, Maria | GRE |
3 | 4 | Krejcikova, Barbora | CZE |
4 | 5 | Sabalenka, Aryna | |
5 | 6 | Badosa, Paula | ESP |
6 | 7 | Kontaveit, Anett | EST |
7 | 8 | Pliskova, Karolina | CZE |
8 | 10 | Jabeur, Ons | TUN |
9 | 11 | Collins, Danielle | USA |
10 | 12 | Ostapenko, Jelena | LAT |
11 | 13 | Raducanu, Emma | GBR |
12 | 14 | Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia | |
13 | 15 | Kerber, Angelique | GER |
14 | 16 | Azarenka, Victoria | |
15 | 17 | Gauff, Cori | USA |
16 | 18 | Rybakina, Elena | KAZ |
17 | 20 | Svitolina, Elina | UKR |
18 | 25 | Zidansek, Tamara | SLO |
19 | 29 | Kasatkina, Daria | |
20 | 30 | Samsonova, Liudmila | ITA |
21* | 203 | Siegemund, Laura | GER |
* Wild card