MUNICH, May 9, 2018
The ATP Challenger Tour will return to the greater region of Munich later this year with the inaugural Isar Open held from 4 to 12 August 2018 at the venue of the Tennis Club Großhesselohe in Pullach. Organizers presented first details of the tournament with a total prize money of €127,000 at the Leonardo Hotel City South in Munich on Wednesday.
“I have been part of the organisation team of the Neckarcup in Heilbronn and we thought it would be nice to do a similar event in Munich,” organizer Maximilian Schnabel told. “With this idea we charged open doors at the tennis club in Großhesselohe.”
The tournament will be held right after the season’s final clay-court event on the ATP World Tour in Kitzbühel and provides a good opportunity for players to extend the European swing on the dirt for another week. “It was the only spot left in the calendar, so we actually didn’t have a choice but we are very happy with this week,” co-organizer Alessandra Trenkle told.
Former pro as tournament director
Organizers of the Isar Open
Tournament director will be former professional Dominik Schulz. The Munich native was one of Germany’s promising tennis talents, reaching a career high World No. 10 in the junior rankings but suffered from injuries in the following.
“I had to deal with back problems and was forced to undergo surgeries. I wasn’t able to deal with this situation mentally and put an end to my professional career,” 26-year-old Schulz commented, who played his last match on the ITF Pro Circuit in 2014.
“I did my A levels and I am currently studying sports and event management in Berlin. I still play tennis at the local club Rot-Weiß. As a former pro, who also competed at this level, I know what the players need in order to feel comfortable at a tournament.”
Three Germans confirmed
As the tournament will be of the highest category at ATP Challenger-level, hospitality for the players will be included. The official hotel “NYX Munich” is located close to the venue and brand new. In fact it hasn’t opened yet. The players will be among the first guests. Tim Pütz, Florian Mayer and Matthias Bachinger were announced as the first players to compete in the Isar Open.
“We are in good talks with a lot of players and I am very positive that most of the German cracks will come to Pullach,” Schulz is confident.
The tournament will also feature a couple of side-events throughout the week. The finals will be played on Sunday, 12. August not before 1 pm following a team competition match of the TC Großhesselohe. Ticket pre-sales will start on Thursday, 10. May.
