The anniversary tournament of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz has come to an end with a victory for the top favourite. World number ten Mirra Andreeva won the 35th edition of the women's tennis classic in Linz.
In the final at the sold-out Design Centre, the world number ten beat local hero Anastasia Potapova 1:6, 6:4 and 6:3. The 18-year-old is thus the first top 10 player since Dominika Cibulkova ten years ago to add her name to the list of winners in Linz. It was not quite enough for Potapova to score a major coup at her home tournament. She was the first Austrian woman ever to reach the final at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.
Anastasia Potapova could tell right from the start how much she was enjoying the vociferous support of the home crowd and played freely in her first WTA final as an Austrian. She repeatedly put Andreeva on the defensive, made hardly any mistakes against the somewhat impatient world number ten and consistently capitalised on all three of her break chances. The result: after just 29 minutes, the 2,500 tennis fans celebrated a convincing 6:1 win for the local heroine. However, a few minor lapses in concentration and avoidable mistakes crept into her game as the match progressed.
Anastasia Potapova
„Even after losing the first set, “Mighty" Mirra Andreeva didn't let it get to her, remained mentally stable and not only found a way back into the final with her strong serve and courageous attacking tennis, but also managed to equalise the set with a well-deserved 6:4 and gave vent to her relief with a loud scream.
While the nerves of the aggressive Anastasia Potapova were now playing an increasingly important role and the strain of a long tournament week was making itself felt, Andreeva was now the player who moved better and also had the necessary bit of luck on her side. She made the ultimately decisive break with a net roller, converted her second match point after just under two hours and celebrated the biggest clay court title of her career.
Mirra Andreeva
„Anastasia played really well at the start and scored a lot of direct points. I'm just happy that I found the solution in the second set to turn the match around. For me, it was about being more active in my legs again. I then played much more confidently after a while and am happy to have come back,“ summarised Andreeva, who won the title on her Linz debut.
Anastasia Potapova was extremely satisfied with her performance this week despite the defeat in the final: „I'm feeling pretty tired at the moment, on top of all the emotions. It was such a positive week and not a bad final either. I tried to give it my all and will only take the positives from the match,“ summarised the first Austrian finalist in tournament history.
Andreeva moves up to ninth place in the new world rankings, overtaking Victoria Mboko (Canada) as the second teenager in the top 10, while Anastasia Potapova is now ranked 54th after reaching the final at her home tournament, making her the new Austrian number one.
As in the singles, there was also a victory for the top favourites in the doubles competition at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. The top-ranked pairing of Sorana Cirstea (Romania)/Zhang Shuai (China) confidently beat the Czech pairing of Jesika Maleckova/ Miriam Skoch 6:3, 6:2 in just over an hour.
Cirstea, who has already reached the quarter-finals in the singles and will end her career at the end of the season, celebrated an emotional farewell to the city on the Danube. She played doubles together with Zhang Shuai for the first time this week - and with great success! „It's my last year and I'm so happy to still have a trophy from Linz at home. This is one of my favourite tournaments and I've come back eleven times. You really do everything for us players here. I couldn't be happier,“ summarised Cirstea, providing the perfect closing words for the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2026.
For every ace beaten, Oberösterreichische Versicherung covers the cost of 1 m² of seed. A total of 243 aces were beaten, but Oberösterreichische Versicherung rounded up its donation to 600. Many thanks for this great sustainability initiative!
In keeping with the motto „Giving children a chance“, the „1,000 rackets for 1,000 girls“ campaign took place for the fifth time this year. Together with the Austrian Tennis Association (ÖTV) and the Upper Austrian Tennis Association (OÖTV), the Upper Austria Ladies Linz has wanted to get children interested in the sport since 2021 and give them a unique opportunity to receive a tennis racket. Dunlop, the official ball partner of the tournament, Oberösterreichische Versicherung, LINZ AG and Plan International are also supporting the campaign.
The organisers will provide a total of 1,000 tennis rackets over several years, which will be „raffled off“ to 1,000 girls between the ages of six and ten. Thank you very much for your support!
Upper Austria Ladies Linz, the Upper Austrian Tennis Association and Sportland Oberösterreich invited all presidents of Upper Austrian tennis clubs to the traditional Presidents Cocktail on the final day. The event concluded with a toast to the successful organisation of this year's WTA tournament. See you next year and thank you for being here!
ANDREEVA VS POTAPOVA
The 35th edition of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz exceeded all expectations and set new standards in many areas. At the anniversary tournament in the Linz Design Centre, tennis fans not only experienced world-class women's tennis, but also an event that has become a social highlight of the year and even more diverse in the Upper Austrian capital.
In our tournament summary, tournament director Sandra Reichel and tournament founder Peter-Michael Reichel take stock.
In addition to the brand presence on site, Mercedes-Benz Austria provides a high-quality shuttle fleet for players and officials. Agnieszka Kühn, CEO & Managing Director Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Austria, was also a guest on the final day of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.
Numerous pupils visited the Design Centre this week to experience world-class tennis up close and meet players at press conferences. They were also in demand themselves: thanks to a video competition, the youngsters had the chance to win EUR 500 for their class fund, great vouchers from Linz AG and a moment of honour on centre court on the final day!
In the end, the most creative video was made by a class from the Aloisianum school in Linz - congratulations!
The Linz women's tennis classic celebrated its premiere 35 years ago and today the Upper Austria Ladies Linz is the second oldest WTA indoor tournament in the world.
Our online exhibition offers a glimpse into history with over three decades of top-class matches, famous players and great moments.
Active regeneration after a tennis match is easy! Combine your passion for tennis with relaxation at the Spa Resort Geinberg: in addition to the spacious thermal spa and pool area with sports pool, the Spa Resort also offers fitness and activity programmes that provide the perfect balance to tennis.
Therme Geinberg was also represented with a stand in the Public Village during the tournament week.
Thanks to our great partner Funk Fuchs, who supported us again this year in successfully organising the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. We say THANK YOU!
The entire Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2026 team would like to thank all fans, players, staff, volunteers, sponsors and partners for their fantastic support!
See you next year!
Would you like to find out more about the Upper Austria Ladies Linz and expand your knowledge of the tournament's top stars? Click on the button to access the online version of our popular programme booklet.
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