In-form Maria opens against Fernandez – last year’s final now a first-round match
German number one Tatjana Maria hasn’t been handed an easy draw at the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt (until 28 June), which begins this Saturday. The 37-year-old, who caused a surprise by winning the WTA 500 tournament at London’s Queen’s Club last weekend—celebrating the biggest success of her career—will face Leylah Fernandez in her opening match on Sunday or Monday. Canadian world number 30 Fernandez reached the final of the US Open in 2021.
Five of the world’s top ten players are competing in the grass-court event at the Kurpark, which offers around $1.1 million prize money. The tournament has never seen a stronger field of participants. The top seed is world number three Jessica Pegula, who—like last year’s Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini (WTA No. 5), rising star Mirra Andreeva (WTA No. 7), and former world number one Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 8)—has been given a first-round bye and will begin her campaign on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Swiatek and Osaka the most successful active major champions
Wildcard holder Naomi Osaka, a global star on the WTA Tour, will face a qualifier in her opening match at her Bad Homburg debut—just like fellow wildcard Laura Siegemund. Osaka and Iga Swiatek are the two most successful active Grand Slam champions in the draw: the Polish player has won five Major titles to date, while the Japanese star has four. Both have also held the world number one ranking.
The cut-off for direct entry this year was world number 29
This high entry highlights the exceptional quality of the field. Notably, the 2024 Kurpark final between defending champion Diana Shnaider and Donna Vekic will now take place in the first round—a result of Friday evening’s draw at the FERI headquarters in Bad Homburg. Andrea Petkovic, who will co-host a podcast with Boris Becker on Centre Court at Spielbank Bad Homburg next Monday (6:00 p.m.), helped conduct the draw.
The fact that the cut-off for the 2025 main draw entry list was world number 29—compared to number 75 in 2023—underscores just how impressive this year’s field is. For the first time, the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt is the highest-tier tournament in the week leading up to Wimbledon (30 June to 13 July).
Even the qualifying matches have it all – top tennis from saturday!
The qualifying matches begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday on the freely accessible Baloise Match Courts. German players Eva Lys and Nastasja Schunk will face tough opponents: Lys takes on Ana Konjuh, while Schunk meets Olga Danilovic. Top-level tennis is also guaranteed by the presence of high-profile players such as two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and 2022 Bad Homburg Open winner Katerina Siniakova, who are also competing in the qualifiers.
Visitors can also look forward to a diverse supporting programme at the fifth edition of the tournament, held at the Baloise Park Village. Highlights include themed days such as Kids Day (Monday, 23 June) and Clubs Day (Wednesday, 25 June), along with a variety of musical and culinary experiences.
Wimbledon flair and festival atmosphere for the small anniversary
For the first time, celebrated chef Bernd Zehner will be serving his specialities in the Park Bistro throughout the tournament. The festivities kick off with an opening concert by the band PFUND, taking place on 21 June from 5:30 p.m. on the stage in front of the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad.
Each day, visitors can enjoy a range of hands-on activities such as the FFH Racketball Challenge and exciting Behind-the-Scenes Tours. There will also be opportunities to test drive electric cars from Polestar. Meanwhile, none other than Wimbledon head coach Dan Bloxham will be offering young players valuable tips on the mini courts.
To round off the first tournament day, the band PFUND will perform again on the show stage in Baloise Park Village from 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
