LINZ, October 26, 2021
Shooting star meets global tennis star in a duel of generations! Where? At the 2021 Upper Austria Ladies Linz, to be held from November 6 to 12 at the TipsArena. British teen sensation Emma Raducanu, who stunned the tennis world by winning this year’s US Open, will be joined at the WTA 250 tournament by former World No. 1 Simona Halep.
The 30-year-old Romanian, a two-time Grand Slam champion and winner of 20 singles titles on the WTA Tour, has received a wild card into the main draw in Linz. Halep has earned nearly $38 million in prize money during her great career. From 2017 to 2019, the current World No. 18 won the “WTA Fan Favorite Award” three times in a row for the world’s most popular player among tennis fans.
♡ It‘s ! ♡@Simona_Halep returns to the for the first time since 2012!
Read more (): https://t.co/QvZ6Fq7SUQ
Ticket shop: https://t.co/IjVpcqG0XA@wta | #simonahalep #wtalinz pic.twitter.com/WPqEvQXSh3— WTA Linz (@WTALinz) October 26, 2021
“I am really looking forward to playing in Linz for the first time since 2012. I haven’t been able to play as much as I would have liked this season so to add another indoor tournament feels like a great opportunity. I am hoping to finish the year on a high at the Upper Austria Ladies event in Linz and want to thank Tournament Director Sandra Reichel for my wild card”, says Halep, who missed the French Open, Wimbledon as well as the Olympic Games in Tokyo this season due to a serious calf injury.
Halep celebrated her biggest triumphs at Roland Garros 2018 (3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final against Sloane Stephens) and at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships (6-2, 6-2 against Serena Williams). She led the WTA Rankings for a total of 64 weeks between October 2017 and January 2019.
Romania’s biggest sports star has a special, emotional attachment to the WTA tournaments organized by Sandra Reichel‘s sports agency MatchMaker. In 2012 Halep took part in the Nürnberger Gastein Ladies in Bad Gastein, and on June 15, 2013, Halep lifted her first singles trophy on the WTA Tour in Nuremberg. In the final she defeated Germany’s top player Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-3. In October 2012, Halep was a guest at the tournament in Linz.
“I’ve known Simona for a long time, and she has never changed. She is not only an incredibly great tennis player, a role model on and off the court, but also an extremely warm, dear person,” says tournament director Reichel.
Halep is coming to the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021 as a newly married wife. On September 15, 2021, she married her partner, the entrepreneur and multi-millionaire Toni Iuruc, in her birthplace Constanta.
A heart for children
Tennis millionaire Halep also has a big heart for children. She makes generous donations to help children play tennis. The project, which was initiated by the Romanian Tennis Federation in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, aims to increase the number of Romanian tennis professionals by encouraging children to play tennis from an early age.
Halep has also set up a foundation to which she intends to devote herself intensively after her tennis career has ended.
Tickets are on sale
Tickets for the Upper Austria Ladies Linz are now on sale with individual tickets starting at just 20 Euros. For tickets, please visit www.oeticket.com or the tournament website www.ladieslinz.at.
Qualifying first-round matches on Saturday, 6th November are free of charge. All kids up to 16 years will also enjoy free entrance on GIRLS’ DAY, 7th November.
