Six ÖTV defeats in qualifying

The eagerly awaited first round clash between top German player Jule Niemeier and US player Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open winner, will take place at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz on Monday evening from 6.30 pm!

"We're starting with a real cracker of a match on the first day of the main draw. Jule is the new German number one and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, and I'm also extremely excited about Sofia's Austrian debut; she's on the upswing again and I'm delighted that a Major winner is playing here," says Tournament Director Sandra Reichel.

Monday starts at 10am with the qualifying finals, the main doubles competition begins at 3pm!

Six ÖTV players started qualifying for the WTA tournament Upper Austria Ladies Linz at ten o'clock on Sunday, and by 6.35 pm it was sadly certain: not a single player had made it through the first round. Julia Grabher therefore remains the only Austrian in the main draw and will most likely face the US American Madison Brengle on Wednesday.

Sinja Kraus was the first of the ÖTV sextet to lose on Sunday (against Varvara Gracheva 2:6, 4:6). Then Barbara Haas was eliminated against Viktoriya Tomova from Bulgaria with 2:6, 1:6. Alina Michalitsch, 23-year-old from Lower Austria and finalist in the Young Ladies Wildcard Challenge, had an overpowering opponent in Clara Tauson from Denmark and lost 0:6, 2:6. Johanna Hiesmair was also unable to capitalise on her chance. The 17-year-old from Upper Austria slipped into the qualifying round at the last moment and lost 3-6, 2-6 to Andrea Gamiz from Venezuela, who is 13 years her senior.

After the defeats of Haas and Hiesmair, Upper Austria's tennis fans were hoping for their compatriot Melanie Klaffner, but the 32-year-old was beaten 6:7, 4:6 by 24-year-old Hungarian Dalma Galfi after a solid performance.     

The last of the ÖTV sextet was Veronika Bokor. The 22-year-old from Lower Austria, two-time winner of the Young Ladies Wildcard Challenge, was a match for Kamilla Rakhimova in the first set, but ultimately lost to the 21-year-old 4:6, 0:6. As a reminder: Rakhimova had won the doubles competition at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz with partner Natela Dzalamidze in 2021 and reached round three of the singles at the 2021 US Open!