At the drawing of the main draw, Barbora Krejcikova, together with the Operating Tournament Director Anke Huber, pulled the pairings out of the hat. The 2021 French Open champion was obviously in good form as she has come up with several top-calibre first round ties. A special highlight has to be the meeting between the three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu, the sensational 2021 US Open winner. After giving birth, Kerber returned to the Tour in Australia this January whilst the 21-year-old Briton was last year forced to take an eight-month injury lay-off. The duel in Stuttgart now gives them both a first test of their form on clay. The encounter between the Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, and Croatia’s Donna Vekic also promises top-notch tennis in the battle for the Porsche Taycan 4S Sport Turismo, the main prize at the long-standing Stuttgart tournament.
Tatjana Maria and Laura Siegemund, the key figures in Porsche Team Germany’s recent 3-1 Billie Jean King Cup win in Brazil both face tough challenges. Maria, currently the top-ranked German player (No. 66), has been given a main draw wild card and will take on Elise Mertens from Belgium, the world No. 30. A wild card has also gone to Siegemund, the 2017 Stuttgart winner, and she too has a tough test on her hands at her home tournament as she has been drawn against the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the world No. 27.
Monday’s first match between the qualifier Diana Shnaider and the former world No. 2 Paula Badosa from Spain on Centre Court in the Porsche Arena is scheduled for not before 6.30 pm. The match featuring Barbora Krejcikova and Veronika Kudermetova will take place immediately afterwards. In the doubles, Anastasia Potapova and Vera Zvonareva will meet Asia Muhammad from USA and Aldila Sutjiadi from Indonesia on Court 1 at 2.00 pm. It will be followed – not before 3.00 pm – on the same court by the singles between Sachia Vickery from the USA and Aliaksandra Sasnovich who, like the Italian Sara Errani and Diana Schaider, both qualified for the main draw on Sunday.
Attractive show tournament as the highlight on Monday
Play at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Centre Court will start with a show tournament beginning at 5.00 pm. The doubles tournament will involve current and former tennis greats taking on athletes representing the four Stuttgart partner clubs belonging to the Porsche “Turbo for Talents” initiative which is dedicated to fostering talented youngsters. In the first match, the Porsche Brand Ambassador Emma Raducanu and Fabian Bredlow from VfB Stuttgart will play the Porsche Talent Team’s Ella Seidel and ice-hockey’s Jackson Cressey from the Bietigheim Steelers. The second tie will pit Nastasja Schunk from the Porsche Talent Team and Marc Stein from the Stuttgarter Kickers against the former top German player Andrea Petkovic and the basketball player Aeneas Jung from MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. The duels will consist of a Champions Tie-break up to ten points. There will be two semifinals and a concluding final. Mascots Fritzle (VfB Stuttgart), Waldi (Stuttgarter Kickers) and Lurchi (MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg) will also stoke up the atmosphere.
Drawing of the tournament main draw at 1.00 pm
At stake on Sunday – play starts at 11 o’clock – are the four remaining berths in the tournament proper. The drawing of the main draw, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, will take place on Court 2 at 1 o’clock. Assisting the Operating Tournament Director Anke Huber will be the Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova.
