Maria Sakkari is the first Greek woman to win the Upper Austria Ladies Linz? There's no question that the current number six in the WTA rankings is the top favourite going into the women's tennis classic in Linz, which is set to make a comeback at the Design Center from 5 to 12 February 2023. However, the 27-year-old is well aware that the path to the final will not be a walk in the park for her - because the competition is high-calibre, from Olympic champions to young stars!

Unforgettable memories came flooding back for Upper Austria's sports councillor Markus Achleitner and tournament director Sandra Reichel when they took a first look at the entry list for the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2023 threw! Both were spontaneously delighted that with Camila Giorgi the 2018 Linz winner is coming to the Design Centre! What makes this particularly explosive is that the Italian "tennis princess" Camila, the declared favourite of the Linz tennis public, beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6:3, 6:1 in the 2018 final. The 28-year-old world number 20, who has now won three WTA tournaments (most recently in Seoul in September 2022), is the runner-up this year behind Maria Sakkari the number two on the entry list. Will there be a rematch between Giorgi and Alexandrova?

A dazzling personality is also Bernarda Pera! The Croatian-American, who moved to New Jersey at the age of 16, has been playing for the US association since 2013. Pera has won two WTA tournaments, most recently the "Hamburg European Open" on 23 July 2022, also organised by Sandra Reichel, with a 6:2, 6:4 victory over Anett Kontaveit in the final.

Olympic flair becomes Katerina Siniakova at the Design Centre! The 26-year-old Czech is already a regular at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Her greatest successes include triumphing in the doubles competitions at the Australian Open (2022), the French Open (2018, 2021), Wimbledon (2018, 2022), the US Open (2022) and the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with partner Barbora Krajcikova. Siniakova also won the Fed Cup with the Czech Republic in 2018. On 22 October 2018, she became the 41st number one in the doubles world rankings. Siniakova always impressed in Linz with her refreshing naturalness.

The armada of up-and-coming young stars is led by the 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova. She has already made headlines this year by reaching the final in Adelaide. The 21-year-old has already entered the list of WTA winners Anastasia PotapovaShe celebrated her first title on the tour in Istanbul in April 2022.  

 Germany's player of the year 2022 also deserves a special mention, Jule Niemeier. The 23-year-old excelled at two Grand Slam tournaments in particular last year: She reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, then narrowly lost the internal German duel with Tatjana Maria in three sets. Niemeier also put in a strong performance at the US Open, which she emphasised with victories over Sofia Kenin, Julija

Putintseva and Zheng Qinwen reached the round of 16, where she lost in three sets to world number one Iga Swiatek. Jule Niemeier has yet to win a WTA tournament, perhaps the young German will be able to do so at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2023!