In its opening tie at 5.00 pm on Friday, Porsche Team Germany will take on Great Britain – a tough match for Laura Siegemund, Tatjana Maria, Jule Niemeier, Eva Lys and Anna-Lena Friedsam. However, Rainer Schüttler is quietly confident his players can win against the Britons who, headed by the impressive Katie Boulter (world ranked No. 24) and Porsche Brand Ambassador Emma Raducanu (58), enter the encounter as favourites.
“It’s an advantage for us that we’re not going into the tie as favourites. It means we can play without any pressure,” says the Porsche Team Germany captain who qualified for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the second time in succession by winning away in April against the strong Brazilians. “A lot will depend on the first match. If we get an early lead, then everything is possible.”
As the singles world ranked No. 84 (she is listed as the doubles world No. 21), Laura Siegemund is Germany’s top player. The winner of the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has enjoyed a number of successes this season. She reached the singles final in Hua Hin (Thailand) and the semifinals in Jiu Jiang (China). In doubles, she was the runner-up at the Masters tournaments in Madrid (with Barbora Krejcikova) and Tokyo (with Ena Shibahara). “It’s been a long season so it’s always nice to get together as a team again,” she said immediately after arriving in Malaga. “We’re looking forward to hopefully a good week together.”
Held for the first time in Malaga, the Finals, a knock-out tournament, will see the 12 top tennis nations competing for the coveted trophy – each tie will consist of two singles and one doubles. The Porsche Team Germany line-up for the opening match on Friday will only be determined one hour before the start of the match. Rainer Schüttler wants to take advantage of every practice session so that his team is optimally prepared for the challenge. “Up until then, we’ll be thinking about who we should pick,” he says. “We’ll place our trust in the players that are in the best form, and who can cope best of all with the conditions.”
The Finals is the first highlight for Porsche Team Germany in which they have to do without Angelique Kerber as the Porsche Brand Ambassador called it a day on her successful career in summer after the Olympic Games in Paris.
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. Together with its subsidiaries, the sports car manufacturer has been the automotive partner of the WTA tournaments in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Bastad (Sweden) in 2024. 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.
