STUTTGART, February 24, 2021
The best players in the world will come to Stuttgart competing in the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The WTA 500 event will be held on clay inside the Porsche Arena from April 17 to 25. The preliminary entry list is led by the Top 3 of the WTA Rankings: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia, World No. 2 and reigning Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka from Japan and World No. 3 Simona Halep of Romania.
The trio will be joined by three women, who have already triumphed at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: 2019 champion Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic, her compatriot Karolina Pliskova, winner in 2018, as well as Porsche brand ambassador and local favourite Angelique Kerber, who lifted the trophy in 2015 and 2016. Other top stars confirmed for Stuttgart are Garbine Muguruza from Spain, Swiss Belinda Bencic and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
“Stuttgart is a great opportunity for me to start the European clay-court season,” said Ashleigh Barty, 2019 winner of the Porsche Race to Shenzhen as well as of the WTA finals. “I’ve heard a lot of positive things about this tournament and I’m really looking forward to being there for the first time.”
Tough challenge to stage the event
“We are still in the midst of an pandemic. Organizing an event like the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in these times is a great challenge for everyone involved,” said tournament director Markus Günthardt.
“But we are still working hard to host the tournament. Unfortunately, we do not know if fans can attend the event but we are in constant contact with local authorities. However, the commitment of so many top stars at this early stage, including the World No. 1 and the newly crowned Australian Open champion, reinforce our optimism. This shows the great esteem our tournament enjoys around the world. I am sure that more world class players will join the line-up by the entry deadline four weeks ahead of the start of the tournament.”
April is coming and with it the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Our tournament director Markus Günthardt has some news to share with you. 📰
You can also find all information in the press release at https://t.co/v1WV0HHN1g pic.twitter.com/g8wQTE2gat— Porsche Tennis (@PorscheTennis) February 24, 2021
