Award from the province of Upper Austria for sports entrepreneur Sandra Reichel

The organiser and tournament director of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Sandra Reichel, was awarded the Silver Medal of Merit of the Province of Upper Austria yesterday evening.

In his laudatory speech, Governor Thomas Stelzer emphasised the great importance of the world-class tennis tournament for Upper Austria, whose international appeal extends far beyond the province's borders and thus makes a lasting contribution to the well-being of the province of Upper Austria.

Alluding to the "Hamburger of the Year" award presented four years ago, Governor Stelzer added with a wink: "We can't let that sit on our hands and would now like to warmly congratulate Sandra Reichel on being awarded the Silver Medal of Merit of the Province of Upper Austria". 

After her active tennis career, Sandra Reichel switched to tennis management and has organised tournaments in Barcelona, Hamburg, Nuremberg, Bad Gastein and Saudi Arabia in addition to the tournament in Linz. In addition to the further development of women's tennis, the general promotion of girls and women is a major concern for Sandra Reichel. For the past two years, the Austrian women's sports congress Advantage Ladies has been organised as part of the tournament. The "1,000 tennis rackets for 1,000 girls" campaign, which she initiated, aims to get even more girls playing tennis.

The Upper Austria Ladies Linz is the most important women's sporting event in Austria and has been upgraded to the WTA-500 category this year.

The next edition of the women's tennis classic will take place from 26 January - 2 February 2025 at the Design Center Linz.