KAARST, October 10, 2017

Organizers of the Kirschbaum International announced on Monday the launch of the 13th edition of the ITF Pro Circuit event held from 28 January to 4 February 2018 at the Tespo Sportpark in Kaarst.

The $15,000 Futures event is part of the “German Masters Series” and will be the final tournament of a three-week indoor swing in Germany following the events in Schwieberdingen and Nußloch. Players such as Milos Raonic, Mischa Zverev, Oscar Otte, Andreas Beck, Maximilian Marterer and Philipp Petzschner were part of the line-up during previous years.

Defending champion of the tournament is Elmar Ejupovic, who battled through the qualifying and eventually upset fellow German Oscar Otte in last year’s final, claiming his maiden trophy.

“Tennis is very popular again,” organizer Marc Raffel says. “We are pleased to have a lot of local sponsors supporting the event. Some of them have been partners of the tournament for a long time.”