Tennis: Linz breaks million mark in prize money

Everything is still open regarding the field of players. “That will happen in the short term,” said Reichel. At least one top ten player should find her way to Upper Austria’s capital. It is still unclear whether Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the defending champion, will start.

“It’s always good to have the defending champion there, but nothing has been decided yet.” “She’s a very special player,” said Reichel. She has many wishes regarding the field of participants. 2020 Linz winner Aryna Sabalenka, who triumphed at the Australian Open and US Open this year, was there, as were the Spaniard Paula Badosa and the Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

“The location is brilliant”

The Linz tournament takes place the week after the Australian Open, and there is only one 250 event taking place at the same time as the Singapore Open. At least these are not bad conditions. The move from the Tips Arena to the Design Center further increased the attractiveness of the event. “The location is brilliant, the players love the modern style, everything looks good on TV too, there are no complaints at all,” said Reichel.

The ex-player is satisfied with the development. “With 1.1 billion TV houses in 151 countries worldwide reached, with 4,502 online press articles, with 3.3 million social video views and with 111 million social media impressions, the tournament has reached a new dimension,” summarized Reichel one of the “top five sporting events in Austria”. The advertising value for the tournament in 2024 was almost 185 million euros.

In terms of audience interest, Austrian draft horses would also be good. Austria’s current number one, Sinja Kraus, is only in position 209 in the ranking. Julia Grabher is only in position 577 due to her long-term wrist injury. Both are currently on the rise. Kraus won her third ITF title of the season in Seville. Grabher had recently won another tournament at the ITF level in Santa Margherita di Pula at the end of September and was thus able to gain valuable self-confidence.

Kraus and Grabher “on the right track”

“It is of course also important to have Austrian players at a home tournament.” That will certainly happen. “It’s nice to see that both are on the right track,” said tournament ambassador Barbara Schett-Eagle. With regard to the offspring in the future, she is particularly hoping for 16-year-old Lilli Tagger. “She trains with Francesca Schiavone in South Tyrol and is managed by Jannik Sinner’s agent.” She is in very good hands, very tall, plays power tennis with a one-handed backhand. It will be exciting to see how it develops.”

But the Upper Austria Ladies are not just about sport. Topics such as the promotion of women, youth promotion, sustainability and inclusion are important cornerstones. Advance ticket sales have already begun. There are special early bird offers until the end of October.