Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: world class tennis and top entertainment

Headed by the title holder and Porsche Friend Poland Iga Swiatek, the world’s top women tennis players are coming to Stuttgart. The world No. 1 from Poland will be joined by last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka (No. 2), Coco Gauff (USA/No. 3), Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan/No. 4), Stuttgart debutant Jessica Pegula (USA/No. 5), Ons Jabeur (Tunisia/No. 6), Qinwen Zheng (China/No. 7), Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic/No. 8) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia/No. 10). Two of the exclusive field’s nine Grand Slam champions are the Porsche Brand Ambassadors Angelique Kerber (Germany) and Emma Raducanu (Great Britain).

“We’re proud and happy at being able to present our audiences with so many top players once again this year,” said a delighted Tournament Director Markus Günthardt at the well-attended Media Talk – it was moderated by Andrea Petkovic – in Stuttgart’s Porsche Brand Store. Together with the host Sebastian Rudolph, Vice President Communications, Sustainability and Politics of Porsche AG, and the Operating Tournament Director Anke Huber, he informed everybody of all the latest news relating to the world class tournament in the Porsche Arena. In doing so, he also explained why the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is something special on the WTA Tour: “We have so many top players here. It means world No. 10 isn’t seeded. It doesn’t happen at any other tournament.” 

“The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is an important part of the Porsche heritage. The long-standing tournament is one of Germany’s top events and a big draw for players and visitors alike,” said Sebastian Rudolph. “The outstanding field of players will produce a Grand Slam atmosphere. Spectators here love the mixture of world class tennis plus the attractive range of side events. The tournament also has a social component as the company supports charitable organisations via the “Aces for Charity” fundraiser. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, societal responsibility reaches out beyond the baseline.” 

“I’ve got great memories of Stuttgart”

Iga Swiatek is aiming to crown her third Porsche Tennis Grand Prix appearance by, if possible, winning her third consecutive title. “The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is one of my favourite tournaments. I’ve got great memories of Stuttgart, and not only because I’ve won there twice. I really appreciate the great organization, the atmosphere created by the fans and, of course the opportunity to drive a Porsche. I can’t wait to get back to Stuttgart,” said the 2022 and 2023 winner. Coco Gauff is also looking ahead optimistically to Stuttgart and the start of the clay court season. “I’ve been very successful on clay and am certain Stuttgart will come up with a perfect and very welcoming week at the start of the European season,” stated the American. Her countrywoman and doubles partner Jessica Pegula is also looking forward to making her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix debut. “I’ve never been to Stuttgart. I’ve heard lots of positive things about the tournament and that it’s the favourite of many of the players. Having Porsche as the organiser and sponsor is also not a feature of many tournaments.” 
 
For Angelique Kerber, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, which she won in 2015 und 2016, will be her first tournament in Germany since giving birth to her daughter Liana. She can hardly wait to return to the Porsche Arena where, having played many memorable matches, she has thrilled the crowds. “I missed the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last year and am looking forward being back again this time around,” said the Porsche Brand Ambassador who recently produced her best performance of her comeback season when reaching the last 16 at the WTA1000 tournament in Indian Wells.

Wild cards for Laura Siegemund and Tatjana Maria

After being given a wild card, Laura Siegemund, the 2017 Stuttgart winner, and Tatjana Maria – the mother of two children was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2022 – are both assured of a main draw berth. In addition to Angelique Kerber, a Top 20 wild card will also go to Emma Raducanu (Great Britain) who became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open. A wild card for the strong qualifying, in which the American Danielle Collins – she won last week’s WTA 1000 event in Miami – is entered, has been handed to both Ella Seidel and Nastasja Schunk. The German youngsters from the Porsche Talent Team will be wanting to take the chance to perform well and advance to the main draw. 

Attractive show doubles tournament is the first highlight 

The first Porsche Tennis Grand Prix highlight is a premiere as a completely new show tournament scheduled for the Porsche Arena’s Centre Court on Monday 15 April at 5.00 pm. It means visitors can watch stars from a variety of sports. Tennis will be represented by the Porsche Brand Ambassador and Grand Slam winner Emma Raducanu and the former world class German player Andrea Petkovic. They will be joined by German juniors from the Porsche Talent Team. Their doubles partners will be well-known professionals from the VfB Stuttgart and Stuttgarter Kickers (football), MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (basketball) and Bietigheim Steelers (ice hockey) clubs which are all partners of the Porsche “Turbo for Talents” initiative. For years now, the sports car manufacturer has been supporting and promoting the coaching of young people at sports clubs in places where the company is located.

Awaiting Porsche Tennis Grand Prix visitors once again this year is an attractive programme of side events giving young and old full value for their money. It includes diverse themed days, the world-famous Stuttgart Ballet’s performance ahead of the final and photographer Radka Leitmeritz’s works belonging to the “Court Supremes” art project will also be on exhibit. 

Main prize for the winner: a Porsche Taycan 4S Sport Turismo

Higher, further, faster: the new versions of the Porsche Taycan impress with their higher charging capacity, longer range and faster acceleration. The winner of the 47th  Porsche Tennis Grand Prix can look forward to a Porsche Taycan 4S Sport Turismo. During the tournament week, the attractive main prize will sit majestically and highly visible on a courtside rostrum in the Porsche Arena. The players therefore have it in their sights the whole time when they are playing on Centre Court. 

According to Angelique Kerber, “There’s no greater motivation on the Tour.” Right on time for the start of play in Stuttgart, Porsche has given the Taycan an extensive upgrade. In addition to greater performance, longer range and faster acceleration, the new versions charge quicker and more robustly. The design has also been further honed. 

Porsche supports educational programmes for refugees

The “Aces for Charity” fundraiser whereby Porsche traditionally supports the social and societal commitment of charities has been an integral part of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for years. At the 47th edition of the world class tournament, the sports car manufacturer will donate 200 euro for every ace to its charity partners, “Stiftung Agapedia” and “Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe”. Founded by the German football World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann, Stiftung Agapedia has been a charity partner of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix since 2007. It runs a children’s centre in nearby Esslingen and has initiated numerous educational, cultural and sporting activities for, in particular, refugee Ukrainian children. The Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe runs six emergency accommodation centres for about 1,200 refugees in the Stuttgart region. Since 2022, the charity, which is backed by a religious order, organises low-threshold language courses for refugees in which, with the support of Porsche, about 130 people are given assistance. 

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix live on TV and in Internet

Powerful TV and Internet partners in Germany ensure that fans will not miss a single rally even if they cannot spectate live in the Porsche Arena. The long-time TV partner Eurosport, one of the Warner Bros. Discovery platforms, will televise a total of 12 matches live on free-to-air TV. They will include the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday at 1.00 pm (all times are local). Eurosport will begin broadcasting on Monday, 15 April with a match at 6.30 pm. It will also show two matches daily from Tuesday to Friday starting at 5.00 pm. 

In collaboration with Porsche, the new TV partner DAZN will transmit every Centre Court match live from Monday. As a special service for the fans, all the televised matches are available for free. They can be viewed on the cost-free option in the DAZN app as well as on the DAZN Tennis YouTube channel. Some matches will additionally be shown on the linear DAZN 1 and DAZN 2 TV channels. During the livestreams, fans can communicate with each other in the DAZN FanZone. DAZN will make the interactive community engagement tool available in tennis for the first time at the world class Stuttgart tournament. 
 
Internationally, the long-established Stuttgart event can be viewed in over 100 countries. A detailed broadcasting schedule is available on the tournament website. 
 
Of particular interest for tennis enthusiasts all over the globe is also the extensive reporting on the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix’s social media channels. Andrea Petkovic will lead the viewers behind the tournament scenes. “I’m looking forward to my new role and can already promise all tennis lovers many new and interesting insights,” said the former world class player and sports reporter who last appeared competitively in the Porsche Arena in 2021. “I associate the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with many wonderful experiences. For us players, the tournament was always one of the year’s highlights.” 

Ticket sales

Tickets for the 47th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in the Porsche Arena from 13 to 21 April 2024 are available via the official www.porsche-tennis.com tournament website or at Easy Ticket Service – in Internet at www.easyticket.de or by calling +49 711 / 2 55 55 55. The finals weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is already sold-out.

Porsche in Tennis

The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is the flagship of Porsche’s worldwide involvement in women’s tennis. First played in Filderstadt in 1978, the long-standing Stuttgart tournament has been held in the city’s Porsche Arena since 2006. It stands for tradition and innovation, as does the Porsche brand. As the most loyal sponsor of women’s international tennis, Porsche has accompanied the WTA’s oldest indoor event right from the start. Porsche has additionally been supporting international women’s tennis for years now. Together with its subsidiaries, the sports car manufacturer will to date therefore be the automotive partner of the WTA tournaments in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Bastad (Sweden). Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu give Porsche a face in tennis as Brand Ambassadors. Jule Niemeier, Maria Sakkari, Karolina Muchova, Anett Kontaveit and Iga Swiatek are additionally “Friends of the Brand” in their home countries. As a premium partner of the “Deutsche Tennis Bund” (DTB – German Tennis Association), the company has been supporting Porsche Team Germany in the Billie Jean King Cup since 2012 and fosters up-and-coming players in the Porsche Talent Team and the Porsche Junior Team.

The live Porsche Tennis Grand Prix TV and streaming times in Germany 

Subject to change
* English commentary