SANTA PONSA/CALVIA, June 21, 2016
The inaugural edition of the €250,000 WTA Mallorca Open has come to an end with Caroline Garcia as the tournament’s first champion. The event is organzied by the Austrian company e|motion management, which is also responsible for the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna as well as the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. CEO Edwin Weindorfer shared his thoughts with the media at the Santa Ponsa Tennis Club last Sunday.
Santa Ponsa Tennis Club during Sunday’s final (photo: WTA Mallorca Open)
“We started from zero. New place, complete new team, new facilities, new grass court. It has been a challenge, I think we have had issues but at the end has been great tournament and a great start for the Mallorca Open,” he said.
“We also have seen very large crowds yesterday and today and I am really happy. We have been very fortunate with our winner as well, because I think Caroline is a future new star.
“This is the perfect week in my mind. They can get used to play on grass before Wimbledon, having the chance to rest after Roland Garros and also here, with less pressure, have the opportunity to practice and enjoy.”
Weindorfer also saw room for potential improvements.
“There are certain improvements we already discussed with the team. We might probably change the entrance, so we can have more life in to the tournament, also one of the match courts because we feel this could add more atmosphere and have more spectators, the one thing we need to make important changes is the parking situation, we are not really happy about that.”
The line-up of the 2016 edition of the Mallorca Open was headlined by world number two Garbine Muguruza. She was joined by further seven seeds, all of them ranked inside the top 50. As Mallorca is the most popular holiday destination for Germans, five players from Germany could be found in the singles main draw. Only one name was missing.
“I think Angelique Kerber would have loved to play here this year and then we would have had the actual two Grand Slam winners of the year so far, but I think the players and their enjoyment has been the thing that has worked this week,” Weindorfer told and added:
“We believe that we bring a world class event to this island, so we want to make sure that this is understood. This event could be somewhere else but we decided to have it here in Mallorca. A lot of people are investing a lot and in a couple of years it has to work out or at least, get a fair return on investment.”
Peer Zebergs (photo: WTA Mallorca Open)
Tournament director Peer Zebergs stated:
“We have had a very colorful field of players, with the likes of former numbers ones, Grand Slam champions. We couldn’t have asked for a better list of players for the first year and the response from the players has been unbelievable, with some of them staying more days in order to practice. One of them said to me that until the end of her career she will be playing this tournament and that is something we have to be proud of.
“Concerning the grass court season, our conditions are incomparable and that it is what’s all about. Mallorca is the perfect spot and one of the best islands of the world, and having a tournament like this brings huge potential”.
