The Tournament Directors

Leadership duo

Behind the success of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a strong team. Markus Günthardt as the Tournament Director and Anke Huber as the Operating Tournament Director have formed a successful leadership duo ever since 2005.

Markus Günthardt, himself a professional on the ATP Tour from 1978 to 1985 and a Davis Cup player for Switzerland, has been the tournament director since 2005. He remained in the game after the end of a playing career that took him to No. 40 in the world doubles rankings. First as the tournament director of the Eurocard Open and ATP Tour World Championships, later as the tournament director of the WTA Finals in Istanbul as well as the WTA Finals in Singapore and Shenzhen. His experience is also in demand on the WTA Tournament Council. He lives with his wife and two children in Madrid and Switzerland.

Anke Huber has been the Operating Tournament Director of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix since 2002. The German, who reached a career high of No. 4 in the WTA world rankings, played her stand-out match when she and compatriot Steffi Graf contested the 1995 Masters final. One year later, she reached her only Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. During the course of her career, she won a total of 12 WTA tournaments. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, she won the tournament in 1991 (against Martina Navratilova) and again in 1994 (against Mary Pierce). She retired after the 2001 WTA Masters. Of the 632 matches she played, she managed to win 418. Anke Huber has two children and lives with her family in Frankenthal, Germany.

Anke, the 47^th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will present its audience with an exclusive field of players. How satisfied are you when looking at the entry list?

“We’re naturally again very satisfied. With title holder Iga Swiatek, the reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, who last year won her first Grand Slam in New York, in the line-up, the world’s top players will all be here. All-in-all, we will be presenting nine Top 10 players and nine Grand Slam champions in the Porsche Arena. That’s pretty respectable.”

How pleasing is it for you that Angelique Kerber is returning to form after giving birth?

“We’re very grateful that Angie was one of the first players to decide to enter our tournament. The pure fact that she will be appearing in the Porsche Arena ups the standing of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix enormously. Our spectators couldn’t wish for anything more than watching the Porsche Brand Ambassador and the two-time Stuttgart winner live again after a one-year break.”

Will her wins at the WTA 1000 Masters tournament in Indian Wells give her the necessary confidence after such a long time away from the game?

“Definitely. In Indian Wells she after all also beat the Top 10 player Jelena Ostapenko and therefore knows she has improved considerably since the start of the season in Australia. Emma Raducanu, our second Brand Ambassador in the field, was also in good form in Indian Wells. Hopefully she’ll continue in the same vein in Stuttgart.”

The world’s top tennis players have been coming almost en bloc to Stuttgart over the years. Is it a given in the meantime?

“No, it’s not quite so simple. We no longer have to convince the players that have already been here and who have played quite well about the quality of our tournament. They know exactly what they can expect. It’s different with younger players and those that don’t know our tournament so well. You still have to work on convincing some of them every now and again.”

What do you say to such players?

“I tell them about what they can expect here. That we go the extra mile to offer them conditions in which they can display their best tennis, starting with the excellent  practice facilities right up to the fantastic Porsche Arena with the great crowd. And we try to anticipate the players’ every wish in the tournament week.”

How difficult is it to retain the high level of tennis at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix?

“Stuttgart is a fixture for many players when planning their season. They feel at home here and like coming back to us. It gives us a certain amount of pride. It‘s also so nice seeing them feeling at home. But as I said, it would be presumptuous to expect that we automatically have eight or nine Top 10 players every year. We go to a lot of trouble to make sure everything stays that way.”

When and how do you contact the players in respect of the tournament?

“It generally happens in late autumn when you can see which players are so far up the world rankings so that they are high enough to be in with a good chance of getting into our main draw. I call or write to the players and their management and take advantage of big events like, this year, the WTA Finals in Cancun to talk to them personally.”

Looking at international women’s tennis, what do you see?

“The standard is for sure better than two, three years ago. There is less to choose between the players at the top and there’s greater consistency. There were times when six or seven players broke into the Top 10 in a season and then quickly dropped out again. It’s no longer the case. With players like Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, there’s more continuity at the top.”

Who are her “players of the year” and what makes them stand out?

“Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have been outstanding. The fact that these two exceptional players contested the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in each of the past two years is an honour for our tournament. Iga is unbelievably consistent even though she has lost a few matches recently. She’s concentrated and focussed and moves around the court extremely well. She’s already got a lot of experience for her age. Aryna’s strengths are her explosive power and energy. She can play incredibly quickly, has a powerful serve and showed at this year’s Australian Open that she can win a Grand Slam. Coco Gauff also excites me. Her triumph at the US Open has given her a big boost, one I’ve waiting for the whole time. She’ll definitely be somebody people have on their cards in the next years when Grand Slam titles are up for grabs.”

When was it clear the trio also be competing in the Porsche Arena in 2024?

“In the case of Iga and Aryna, it was quite early on. You should never feel certain, but with the finalists in the past two years, we were pretty sure it was going to happen. Iga after all has the rare chance to win her third consecutive title, and therefore go down in the history books. After the 2023 final, Aryna said she just had to win a Porsche. And Coco has told us over and over again just how much she likes it in Stuttgart.”

The last German winner was Laura Siegemund in 2017. Do you see a talented youngster that can follow in her footsteps?

“At the moment, there’s nobody in Germany that you feel is capable of doing it. We have to be patient and wait two or three years to see if our highly talented players Noma Noha Akugue, Eva Lys or Ella Seidel manage to get to the top. After a successful generation that included players like Angie Kerber, Julia Görges and Andrea Petkovic, it’s relatively normal that there will initially be a gap. There are a number of young hopefuls in the junior teams supported by Porsche who have to be given the necessary time to develop.”

Talking about Angelique Kerber, the Porsche Brand Ambassador is planning her return after having a baby. Will we see her in Stuttgart?

“She wants to play the Australian Open. Let’s see how things go for her and where the journey will take her. Having her here with us would definitely be a big plus for our tournament and all the spectators.”

Back to Angelique Kerber: how far can she go in Stuttgart?

“Angie is always good for a surprise. Especially in the Porsche Arena.”