Paris > Bad Homburg > Wimbledon: On her very personal road to the world’s most important grass court tournament, Iga Swiatek is stopping off in the spa town. The world number one, who won the French Open for the third time just two weeks ago, has been training in Hochtaunus since Tuesday afternoon and is meticulously preparing for her grass court season in ideal conditions.

Swiatek will play her opening match at the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers (June 24 to July 01, 2023) on Monday (June 26) at 6 p.m. on the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court. Tickets for the premiere of the 22-year-old Polish in the Kurpark are still available.

In addition to Grand Slam champions such as Iga Swiatek, Victoria Azarenka and last year’s finalist Bianca Andreescu, the third edition of the grass-court event will once again feature crowd favorites such as Tatjana Maria, Jule Niemeier and Sabine Lisicki. Niemeier and Lisicki, a 2013 Wimbledon finalist, received wildcards and are in the main draw, which starts with some matches already on Sunday (June 25). Anna-Lena Friedsam will play in the qualifier on Saturday (June 24) for a place in the main draw.

Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria also returns to Bad Homburg

Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier in particular had impressively demonstrated their qualities on grass last year – and at the world’s most important tennis tournament. Maria advanced to the semifinals of the Wimbledon classic after defeating Niemeier in the round of the last eight. Sabine Lisicki had only lost to eventual winner Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals of Bad Homburg in 2022.

Supporting program and exciting theme days at Baloise Park Village

Not only Iga Swiatek and the German participants are looking forward to the draw on Friday afternoon. Andrea Petkovic will be the lucky lady at the draw ceremony. The former number nine in the world rankings, who ended her active career last year, will ask for her “last dance” on Sunday (June 25). As part of Petko and Friends powered by FERI, the Darmstadt native will say goodbye to her home audience in a show fight with companions and companions. “It will be a cool and wonderful day,” said Petkovic full of anticipation.

Supporting program and exciting theme days at Baloise Park Village

This year’s Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel und Völkers promises plenty of Wimbledon flair and first-class entertainment with summer cinema, live music and public viewing. An overview of the theme days: Kids Day (June 26/Monday), Charity Day (June 27/Tuesday), Clubs Day powered by newkee (June 28/Wednesday) and Afterwork Day powered by Baloise (June 29/Thursday).

Congratulations, Iga Swiatek! The top-seeded Pole, who is the newly crowned Roland Garros winner and will be serving at the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers in just over two weeks, defended her title at the French Open by defeating Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in a high-class final over 2:46 hours and remains the clay court queen. It was her third Paris coup in the past four years.

Swiatek starts in the Kurpark on June 26 – Paris > Bad Homburg > Wimbledon

The four-time Grand Slam winner can already be seen live and up close on June 26 (Monday) in her opening match on the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court (tickets here https://badhomburg-open.de/de/tickets/). After her impressive success in Paris, the spa town is incidentally the only stop for Swiatek on her “Road to Wimbledon“.

At the second major tournament of the year, she once again lived up to her nickname “1GA” and fought her way back again and again in the final, even after setbacks. The energy performance was rewarded. The crowd favorite from Warsaw has now been at the top of the WTA rankings for over 14 months (April 4, 2022).

And Iga Swiatek is already looking forward to her premiere in the Kurpark. “I have already heard many good things about the Bad Homburg Open. Especially when it comes to the fans and the atmosphere on Centre Court,” said the 2022 US Open champion full of anticipation.

It fits the picture and also says a lot about the qualities of Swiatek that she set a world record at the hard court event in Doha in February. The Pole surrendered five games. No, not in the final – which, by the way, would have been worthy of all honors. But even better, she only conceded a total of five games on the way to her tournament victory. Only the iconic Suzanne Lenglen achieved the same feat at Wimbledon 100 years ago.

Iga, the “bagel” queen – sports psychologist as permanent team member

In any case, Swiatek is considered the “bagel” queen of the scene. She has already “punished” her opponent 71 times in her career with a sobering 6:0 – from her point of view. Which speaks for class and consistency.

After her dream year in 2022 (which included two Grand Slam triumphs and a run of 37 consecutive victories), the current season got off to a far from satisfactory start. At the Australian Open in January, the first major test of 2023, the petite right-hander was eliminated in the round of 16.

At the time, she made no secret of the fact that she felt her “head” sometimes flew off. Swiatek is one of the few on the circuit who is relatively open about the mental aspect of her sport and how she feels. She has relied on a sports psychologist by her side since the very beginning of her professional career. Daria Abramowicz is an integral part of the team. Like coach and physio.

“Iga is aware of the importance of the psychological aspect. She is aware that it is a big piece of the puzzle to be able to celebrate success in tennis,” Abramovic explained in an interview with online portal tennismajors.com. And Swiatek’s compatriot knows what makes her client so special: “Even on a bad day, Iga is open-minded and able to work things out.” Mind you, on AND off the court.

Speaking of which – the branch leader proves to be very versatile at all. For example, she founded a book club and likes to exchange content with fans. At the 1,000-player tournament in Rome in May, Swiatek appropriately browsed through the biography of Leonardo da Vinci, and in Paris these days “Beyond Eden” was the order of the day. He also watched the second season of the U.S. series “Ted Lasso.

Federer and Shiffrin are also Iga fans – “Like a chess player“.

It’s not just ex-professional Andrea Petkovic who goes into raptures when she talks about Swiatek’s tactical finesse: “Iga is like a chess player, every stroke is a move,” Petkovic enthused on the Eurosport program “Matchball Becker” these days.

The great Roger Federer and U.S. ski champion Mikaela Shiffrin also think highly of Swiatek, who was once also active in synchronized swimming. For the Swiss icon, the Pole is already an absolute “champion of the sport,” as Federer emphasized. The 20-time Grand Slam winner should know! Shiffrin, a top star herself, admires the “incredible mentality” of the number one in the tennis universe. Much praise for “1GA,” the undisputed queen of Paris!

The world number one and four Grand Slam winners with a total of seven major singles titles: The third edition of the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers (June 24 to July 1, 2023) promises world-class tennis with Wimbledon flair!

The best field of participants so far in the still young history of the tournament is led by Iga Swiatek, who has already been at the top of the world rankings for more than a year. “I have heard so many good things about the Bad Homburg Open. Especially when it comes to the fans and the atmosphere,” enthused the Pole, who will be celebrating her premiere at the grass-court event in the historic Kurpark.

Besides Swiatek, top stars like Azarenka, Andreescu and Stephens will also be there

Unlike branch leader Iga Swiatek, two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka is already a regular at the final Wimbledon rehearsal. Bianca Andreescu, meanwhile, still has a score to settle from last year: The US Open champion of 2019 was narrowly defeated in three sets in a high-class final on the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court. Afterwards, Bianca Andreescu had raved about the atmosphere in the stands and the facility: “There was simply a super atmosphere in all corners during the tournament week.“

Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier also return to Bad Homburg

Sloane Stephens is the third Flushing Meadows winner in this year’s Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers alongside Iga Swiatek and Bianca Andreescu. Leylah Fernandez was a finalist at the US Open in New York in 2021, and Donna Vekic was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open just a few months ago. In Katerina Siniakova, however, not only the Kurpark finalist from 2021 will be returning to the picturesque grounds of TC Bad Homburg, but also the double Olympic champion from Tokyo and number one in the doubles world rankings (a total of seven Grand Slam titles).

The starting lineup will also include Germany’s two current top players, who last year impressively demonstrated their strength on grass: Tatjana Maria advanced to the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2022 after defeating Jule Niemeier in a direct duel in the quarterfinals.

In addition to world-class tennis with Wimbledon flair, visitors to the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers 2023 can expect a summer festival atmosphere and a varied supporting program with theme days for young and old.

Tickets can be purchased in cooperation with Reservix here and in authorized advance booking offices.

The complete field of players is available here.

The countdown for the third edition of the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers (June 24 to July 1, 2023) is in full swing – and now the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court has also been given its new face. On Saturday (May 20), in sunshine, the lines were drawn on the three match courts at TC Bad Homburg. The marking of the three training courts at the Homburger TG will follow soon.

“Everything is going very well, the weather is suitable. Fingers crossed that it stays warm over the next few weeks,” said supervisor Oliver Stuhldreier and English greenkeeper Stuart Burridge in unison. And what would the ” lawn whisperers” like to see for the climate during the tournament week? “Ideal would be 20 to 25 degrees Celsius – and no rain.” Directly after the matches, the courts are still watered every evening, not just in the morning. “So that there is more time to dry,” explains Oliver Stuhldreier.

Top stars such as Swiatek and Andreescu will be in the spa park

Five weeks before the start of the tournament, the courts will be resplendent in lush green and the anticipation of the tournament with Wimbledon flair in the Kurpark, for which, among others, the world number one and three-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, last year’s Bad Homburg Open finalist and US Open winner Bianca Andreescu and the German number one Tatjana Maria, Wimbledon semifinalist in 2022, have already confirmed their participation. The complete field of female participants will then be officially announced on May 29.

Currently, the lawn of the courts is mowed every two days with a so-called double cut, i.e. once there and once back. Soon the workload will be increased to once a day. At present, the cut length is still 10 millimeters, but during the Bad Homburg Open, the lawn will be the exact length of Wimbledon: The famous 8 millimeters.

In addition, the baseline – as is also customary at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) – will be widened from the current 5 to 7.5 centimeters. The chalk-based paint used specifically for this line comes from England and is extra robust.

Did you know that…

…about 1.5 liters of a chalk mixture are needed for the one-time line marking of a lawn tennis court?

…the chalk mixture is also used for marking the playing fields in Bundesliga soccer stadiums?

…after every second or third mowing of the tennis lawn the lines are traced?

…the measuring of the 23.77 meter long and 10.97 meter wide tennis court before the initial marking is done with 3 people, 3 red ropes, 36 pins and conventional measuring tapes and takes about an hour?

…the actual marking with a handcart takes approximately 45 minutes?

For more than a year now, Iga Swiatek has been enthroned at the top of the world rankings – without interruption. In the history of professional tennis, only eleven players before her have achieved this. And if the experts are to be believed, the reign of “Queen 1GA”, who will be competing at the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers (June 24 to July 1), could become permanent.

At just 21 years of age, the Pole already has three Grand Slam trophies in her display case: She has won the French Open twice (2020, 2022) and the US Open once (2022). Last season, Iga Swiatek dominated almost at will, going 37 matches in a row without defeat – and in some statistics was already on a par with icons like Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. We have already read about the “on-court blockbuster” named Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek and Federer: A special connection and a lot of sympathy

It is no coincidence that Roger Federer also has a high opinion of the sympathizer from Warsaw. She recently signed an outfitter contract with a company supported by the Swiss maestro. Iga Swiatek represents “the next generation of world-class talent” and is “a champion of the sport,” praised Roger Federer. Such praise from perhaps the greatest tennis player of all time…what more could you want?

But Iga Swiatek wants more. Not least because, despite her relatively young age, she is a professional who thinks outside the box and reflects. Via social media, the exceptional athlete tries to encourage people to read. “Reading a book helps me balance my life and my job. I want to share the joy of this hobby and get people reading,” explained the reigning Flushing Meadows winner, who regularly publishes her reading lists. In 2022, she managed to read 20 books. Among them were some substantial works, because: Iga Swiatek definitely appreciates page-turning classics like “Gone with the Wind.”  The 2023 reading challenge for her and her followers: 12+x books!

Ski superstar Mikaela Shiffrin: “Iga has an incredible mentality“.

The 21-year-old, whose permanent team has long included a sports psychologist, also likes to draw inspiration from other sports, new developments and interesting characters. For example, from record-breaking skier Mikaela Shiffrin. The two No. 1 athletes nominated for the Laureus Sportswoman Award 2023 have never met in person, but they often exchange ideas via Instagram. They talk about things like pressure in professional sports, charity activities, and so on.

For U.S. superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, Iga Swiatek, who is about six years younger, is a role model. “She has an incredible mentality when it comes to tennis and competition itself. Because she is young and has already had so much success in her career, she focuses – in my opinion – on the right things. That’s something I can learn from,” Mikaela Shiffrin said, even venturing a special comparison: “Iga’s game is focused and beautiful at the same time. It reminds me of Roger Federer.”

More information about Iga Swiatek: GOOD, BETTER, IGA.