World class at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Exclusive starting line-up at the 46th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: nine Top 10 players are set to appear in Stuttgart’s Porsche Arena from 15 to 23 April. T Awaiting the winner of the WTA 500 tournament that has been held since 1978 is a Porsche Taycan Turbo S Sport Turismo as the main prize.
Heading the entry list is the dominant world No. 1 and title-holder Iga Swiatek. In 2022, the Pole won the French and US Opens as well as a total of six WTA tournaments. This year, she has tasted success in Doha. Aryna Sabalenka, her opponent in last year’s final in the Porsche Arena and the current world No. 2, celebrated her biggest career achievement by winning the Australian Open. With the Wimbledon champion and this year’s Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan/No. 7) in the line-up, it means all three reigning Grand Slam champions will be competing.
The winner of the 2022 WTA Finals, Caroline Garcia (France/No. 4) and the current Olympic champion Belinda Bencic (Switzerland/No. 9) will once again be playing in the Porsche Arena. Other Top 10 players at the long-standing Stuttgart tournament are last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur (Tunisia/No. 5), Coco Gauff (USA/No. 6), Daria Kasatkina (No. 8) and Maria Sakkari (Greece/No. 10).
Wildcards for Maria, Niemeier, Andreescu and Raducanu
Three players have a main draw berth at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after being given a wild card – Tatjana Maria, Jule Niemeier and Emma Raducanu. In 2022, Germany’s top two current players Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier contested an enthralling quarterfinal match in Wimbledon when writing a German tennis fairy tale at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As a former Grand Slam winner (2021 US Open), Emma Raducanu (Great Britain) has received a Top 20 wild card.
“Our aim is to present our audiences in the Porsche Arena with the world’s top tennis players. It’s the DNA of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The starting line-up is unique for a tournament of our category,” says Tournament Director Markus Günthardt. Anke Huber, the Operating Tournament Director, adds: “Having so many top stars is a huge compliment for our tournament and the spectators in the Porsche Arena. The players thus show us that they love coming to Stuttgart.”
Stuttgart Ballet and Racket Sports World
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will this year offer its visitors an attractive programme of side events – with an exciting premiere. The Racket Sports World is a festival of racket sports and offers a programme of “have-a-go-yourself” activities revolving around the sports of tennis, padel, table tennis, badminton and touch tennis. The sporting highlights in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle are the Yonex One Tennis-Point Grand Prix, the badminton international match between Germany and Ukraine and the first German touch tennis national championship.
In the new Porsche World, visitors can marvel at special Porsche cars and also experience them multi-medially. There will also be autograph sessions with the stars plus “have-a-go-yourself” activities for young and old. The Stuttgart Ballet’s performance promises to be a treat for the senses as the world-famous company will get the crowd in the mood for the final with a performance on Centre Court.
“Aces for Charity” supports Ukraine aid programmes
A part of the 46th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix whereby Porsche traditionally supports charitable activities, “Aces for Charity” will this year also reflect the “75 Years of Porsche Sports Cars” celebrations. To mark the anniversary and inspired by the first Porsche 356, the sports car manufacturer will donate 356 euro for every ace struck during the tournament. The donation will be divided up equally between the “Stiftung Agapedia” foundation, the regional “Landessportverband Baden-Württemberg” sports association and the “Ferry-Porsche-Stiftung” foundation. It will go to support Ukraine aid programmes.
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix begins on Saturday, 15 April with the first round of qualifying. The final will take place on 23 April. Before the tournament week gets underway in the Porsche Arena, Porsche Team Germany will play its first-round Billie Jean King Cup match against Brazil on Centre Court on Friday, 14 April and Saturday, 15 April.
