HAMBURG, July 29, 2026
The release of the official acceptance lists has further fueled anticipation for the 2026 Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup, which will take place from August 9 to 16 at the historic Rothenbaum Tennis Center. Featuring an ATP Challenger 75 and a World Tennis Tour W50 event, the tournament promises a week of high-quality tennis with an international field of established professionals, rising stars and local favorites.
International stars headline ATP Challenger field
Hungarian Zsombor Piros (ATP No. 122) and Lithuanian Vilius Gaubas (ATP No. 128) lead the men’s entry list. Piros, 26, has been one of the standout performers on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, capturing four titles and arriving in Hamburg in search of the 12th trophy of his professional career.
At just 21 years of age, Gaubas has already established himself as one of the tour’s brightest young talents. The Lithuanian has won three ATP Challenger titles and came close to breaking into the Top 100 earlier this year, a milestone he will be eager to achieve before the end of the season.
The field also includes experienced campaigners such as Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena (ATP No. 176), Italy’s Lorenzo Giustino (ATP No. 201) and India’s Sumit Nagal (ATP No. 246), alongside promising youngsters including Croatia’s Luka Mikrut (ATP No. 178).
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Home hopes led by Gentzsch, Squire and rising stars
German tennis will be well represented in the main draw with Tom Gentzsch (ATP No. 186), Henri Squire (ATP No. 214), Diego Dedura (ATP No. 197) and Niels McDonald (ATP No. 509) already guaranteed direct entry. Additional Germans could join the field through qualifying or wildcard invitations.
Gentzsch arrives in Hamburg at a career-high ranking after enjoying an excellent season. The 22-year-old reached the final qualifying round of this year’s French Open, made his ATP Tour debut in Stuttgart thanks to a wildcard, and finished runner-up at Challenger events in Koblenz, Split and Bunschoten. He will be hoping to claim his maiden Challenger title on home soil.
Squire also has fond memories of Hamburg. In March 2024, the Düsseldorf native lifted his first ATP Challenger trophy at the Hamburg Tennis Association’s indoor venue, defeating France’s Clement Chidekh in the final. He now returns aiming to add another title in the city, this time on the famous clay courts of the Rothenbaum.
Two members of Germany’s next generation will also be in the spotlight. Eighteen-year-old Diego Dedura has already won two ITF World Tennis Tour titles and celebrated the biggest success of his career last Sunday by capturing his maiden ATP Challenger title at the Tampere Open in Finland. The Berlin-born teenager, coached by his Chilean father and Lithuanian mother, made international headlines in 2024 when he became the first player born in 2008 to win an ATP Challenger main-draw match. He repeated the feat on the ATP Tour at the BMW Open in Munich last year.
McDonald, also 18, was born in Wales to a German mother and Scottish father and holds both German and British citizenship. Raised in Schwerin, he enjoyed an outstanding junior career, winning the 2024 French Open boys’ singles title to become the first German since Alexander Zverev in 2014 to capture a Grand Slam junior singles championship.
High-quality women’s field with local flavor
The women’s tournament also promises world-class competition. Former world No. 22 Tamara Zidansek (WTA No. 142) tops the acceptance list. The Slovenian owns 17 World Tennis Tour titles and lifted the WTA title in Lausanne in 2021.
Much of the local attention, however, will focus on Noma Noha Akugue (WTA No. 144). The 22-year-old from nearby Reinbek, who has represented Club an der Alster since 2019, has already claimed three World Tennis Tour titles this season in Altenkirchen, Helsinki and Wiesbaden, bringing her career tally to six.
Noha Akugue also enjoys special memories at the Rothenbaum. In 2023, she reached her first WTA final in Hamburg with victories over Laura Pigossi, Storm Hunter, Martina Trevisan and Diana Shnaider before finishing runner-up to Arantxa Rus.
Another northern German favorite, Mona Barthel (WTA No. 215), is also set to compete. The former world No. 23, born in Bad Segeberg, won the Hamburg W50 title two years ago by defeating Britain’s Sonay Kartal in the final. Barthel has captured four WTA Tour singles titles during her career.
Overall, players from ten different nations are represented in the women’s main draw, promising another highly competitive edition of the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup.
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