KERBER BIDS FAREWELL WITH A TENNIS CELEBRATION
Angelique Kerber waved to the packed stands of the sold-out Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court and wiped away a few tears. The farewell of the three-time Grand Slam champion as a professional player turned into a memorable tennis celebration filled with emotion and special moments. Whether it was the video messages from Steffi Graf, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Helene Fischer and many others, or the appearance of Boris Becker in person, emotions took center stage in the Kurpark despite temperatures reaching as high as 37 degrees Celsius.
“I wanted to say goodbye to my fans—that was very important to me. With today, I have truly retired. That chapter is over, and a new one can begin,” said Kerber, who has served as Tournament Director of the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt since last year, having previously acted as tournament ambassador for the WTA 500 boutique event. For her farewell match, Kerber invited her close friend Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion. In the end, Kerber prevailed 6–3, 7–5 and fittingly sealed victory with a forehand winner in front of 4,100 spectators.
Andreeva, Swiatek and Osaka Take Advantage of Excellent Conditions
Meanwhile, newly crowned French Open champion Mirra Andreeva is also enjoying the Wimbledon atmosphere in the Kurpark. “The Bad Homburg Open is one of my favorite grass-court tournaments. I always love playing here,” said the 19-year-old, who captured her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros two weeks ago. Like top seed and Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 3) and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka (WTA No. 15), Andreeva (WTA No. 5) arrived in Bad Homburg early to make the most of the tournament’s “excellent conditions.” Andreeva also revealed that she is currently reading the classic novel Gone with the Wind and is particularly looking forward to shopping at a local drugstore during her stay.
Osaka Opens Campaign Against Frech – German Trio Falls in Qualifying
Like Andreeva, Swiatek, Elina Svitolina (WTA No. 8) and Karolína Muchová (WTA No. 10) received first-round byes. Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka begins her tournament on Sunday. The world No. 15 will face Poland’s Magdalena Frech on the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court (not before 3:30 p.m.). In Saturday’s opening round of qualifying, Tamara Korpatsch was defeated 6–1, 6–4 by Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu. Ella Seidel fell to Argentina’s Solana Sierra 6–2, 6–1, while 16-year-old Mariella Thamm was edged out by Renata Zarazua 6–3, 7–6.
