Mirra Andreeva is the international superstar at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2026! The world number ten has already scored a lot of points with the fans with her friendly and open demeanour at the Design Center over the last few days - now she has to prove herself on centre court against Sloane Stephens.
Mirra Andreeva always wants to win - even in the egg race! Her colleagues at the Players Alpine Night presented by Raiffeisen Landesbank Oberösterreich realised this straight away when Andreeva won the Easter Challenge!
The 18-year-old knows her way around Austria really well: „I spent almost my entire childhood playing youth tournaments in Austria and Germany,“ recalls the Dubai and Indian Wells 2025 winner. Now it's time for her debut at WTA level in Linz, for which Andreeva has been preparing meticulously for more than a week. Her opponent today already has one thing over Andreeva - winning a Grand Slam tournament. Sloane Stephens won the title at the US Open in 2017 and is now fighting her way back from a foot injury.
Meanwhile, a very special match awaits Anastasia Potapova. The 25-year-old has been playing for Austria on the WTA Tour since the start of the year and was able to enjoy the atmosphere on centre court with Lilli Tagger in the doubles on Monday. „I didn't know exactly what to expect, but the fans gave me a great reception. I'm very happy and proud to be here,“ said the 2023 Linz winner, who is convinced that she can also play her dangerous power tennis on clay at the Design Centre.
Thanks to Potapova, four Austrians are back in the main draw in Linz for the first time since 2008 - and the fans will definitely be behind her in her match against Zhang Shuai!
Anastasia Potapova
Yelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko also knows what it feels like to win the tournament in Linz. The Latvian triumphed in 2024 and is really looking forward to this year's edition on a new surface.
„I like playing on clay indoors. I won indoors in Stuttgart last year, for example,“ says „Penko“, emphasising her preference for the red clay. In contrast to many other players, she finds the surface in Linz „very fast“.
Meanwhile, Ostapenko's opponent Alexandra Eala is already in full rhythm after yesterday's win against Julia Grabher and is determined to add to her tally with the vociferous support of her Filipino compatriots. The Upper Austria Ladies Linz is also a small home match for Eala.
Age: 37
Born in: Tianjin, China
World ranking position: 64
Greatest success: Australian Open doubles winner (2019 & 2026)
Age: 25
Born in: Saratov, Russia
World ranking position: 97
Greatest success: Winner Upper Austria Ladies Linz (2023)
SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE
Under the motto „United in Change“, more than 200 decision-makers from sport, media and science will be discussing today in the congress hall of the Design Centre at the Advantage Ladies FE&MALE Sports Conference to promote allyship across disciplines, sports and functions. In addition, the aim is to take responsibility together, exchange perspectives and initiate concrete changes for a significant improvement in gender equality in sport.
At the Players Alpine Night presented by Raiffeisen Landesbank Oberösterreich in the VIP area of the Design Centre on Monday evening, players, sponsors and other invited guests celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Linz women's tennis classic in style!
The players were dressed in traditional costumes from Heimatwerk to match the theme and competed in a variety of Easter challenges, which the tournament favourite Mirra Andreeva won in the end. The „Plattlermentscha“ Schuhplattler dancers from Bad Kreuzen provided the entertainment.
Over 100 works council members accepted the invitation from Upper Austria Ladies Linz and the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) on Tuesday. Lilli Tagger's first-round match was followed with great enthusiasm, after which the guests were welcomed by tournament ambassador Barbara Schett, ÖGB President Andreas Stangl and tournament director Sandra Reichel.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough for Julia Grabher and Sinja Kraus in the singles. After Kraus not only had to wish Sorana Cirstea from Romania a happy birthday but also a victory, Austria's number one Grabher lost to Alexandra Eala. But both will have a second chance today. After Lilli Tagger and Anastasia Potapova lost their opening match, Kraus/Grabher are now the last red-white-red trump card in the doubles competition. In the last match on Court 1, an exciting challenge awaits with the duel against Jaqueline Cristian (Romania) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia). Our Austrian doubles team would certainly be delighted to receive loud support!
It has been more than 20 years since Conchita Martinez last stood on the court in Linz. The 1994 Wimbledon winner reached the doubles final once again in 2005 alongside Virginia Ruano Pascal. Now the former world number two is back in the city on the Danube and is passing on her experience as a coach to top seed Mirra Andreeva.
„Senorita Topspin“, as Andreeva affectionately calls her, forms a perfect tandem with the 18-year-old high-flyer. Always positive, but above all always reassuring and affirming, the now 53-year-old Martinez has a positive influence on her player. The pair still have a lot of plans together, with the long-term goal being to win a Grand Slam tournament and reach number one in the world rankings and the short-term goal clearly being to win the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2026 tournament.
The change from hard to clay court has significantly changed the character of the matches at the Design Centre this year. We provide a brief overview of the biggest challenges.
Speed: Due to the sand and playing „under laboratory conditions“ in the hall, without the influence of additional heat, the rallies slow down considerably.
Jump off: The ball bounces much flatter on the indoor clay court in Linz than it used to. This also makes it more difficult to score direct points.
Intensity: The longer rallies demand everything from the athletes, both mentally and physically. Tactics and a feel for the situation are even more important in order to prevail. Defensive work in particular becomes even more important.
Fans can therefore look forward to even more spectacular rallies!
TAGGER VS Badosa
As part of the 35th anniversary of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Federal Minister Claudia Bauer and Markus Achleitner (Provincial Councillor for Economics and Sport) paid a visit to the tournament - a strong sign of the importance of sport and women's tennis in particular in Austria!
„I dreamed of winning this match,“ said Lilli Tagger after this dream came true. In the sold-out Design Centre, Tagger won her main draw debut at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz against the former world number two Paula Badosa thanks to a courageous performance 6:4 and 7:6.
Tagger quickly got over her initial nervousness in front of her family and friends from Lienz, who had travelled to Linz with her, and got into the game better and better after trailing 1:3. She was the more courageous player, especially in the decisive situations. The East Tyrolean won nine of the next ten games and was already on the winning track at 4:0 in the second set, but still had to go into a tie-break. There, the 18-year-old showed her nerves of steel. „I would like to thank you all. It was incredibly important to me to win my first match on clay in Austria,“ summarised Tagger. The tournament continues on Thursday in the round of 16 against Liudmila Samsonova - hopefully again with a real goosebump atmosphere and in front of a full house!
Did you know?
The „Linz curse“ is broken. Lilli Tagger's victory over Paula Badosa was a historic success! The 18-year-old is the first Austrian since Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in 2013 to win a main draw match at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. A 13-year dry spell is over! Incidentally, Mayr-Achleitner only lost to Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals back then. How far will Lilli go now?
Sorana Cirstea will remember this day for a long time! Yesterday, the Romanian celebrated her 36th birthday in Linz: “I haven't played on my birthday for ten years. I couldn't have imagined a better birthday! Thanks to Sandra and the whole team!”
Yesterday lunchtime, around 75 pupils from three different school classes had the opportunity to pepper world-class player Liudmila Samsonova with questions at a press conference. Samsonova spilled the beans for the youngsters and revealed, among other things, how many hours a day she trains, what other careers she would have enjoyed and whether she has ever wanted to give up. Finally, one pupil asked how the player deals with pressure from the media: “Fortunately, I don't feel any pressure from the media at all.” - No wonder, with such great young journalists! Special thanks to Linz AG for supporting the school campaign.
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.
A walk through the exhibition arch in the Public Village offers a glimpse into the history of over three decades full of top-class matches, famous players and great moments. Not on site? No problem! The exhibition is also available online.
Players Party
A look behind the scenes of the WTA 500 tournament: This was possible for members of the Austrian Seniors„ Association yesterday. Of course, there was also a backstage tour with places that remain hidden to normal visitors and the “Austrian Women's Day" was followed on Centre Court. An all-round successful trip!
Cool sustainability initiative! Once again this year, Oberösterreichische Versicherung will cover the cost of 1 m² of seed for every ace that is beaten.
Presented by
Advantage Ladies, the FE&MALE Sports Conference
Senior special: Free coffee & cake with every ticket
Best Friends Package: Pay for 4 tickets and get 1 ticket plus a bottle of wine from Weingut Heribert or a glass of Schlägl beer for free
TBA: Autograph session in the Public Village
5.00 pm: Mayor's reception
5.15 pm: Beer tasting at the Schlägl Lounge
17.00 -18.00 hrs: ORF Radio OÖ Wheel of Fortune: Happy Hour for Gentlemen, 2x VIP tickets for a Blau Weiß Linz game
DAILY ACTIONS:
Software Park Hagenberg: Try out VR tennis
Mercedes-Benz: Tennis ball gripper arm with signed tennis balls from Austrian players
Stay on the ball with Upper Austria Ladies Linz! The broadcast times at a glance:
Wednesday, 08.04.2026
Thursday, 09.04.2026
Friday, 10.04.2026
Saturday, 11.04.2026
Sunday, 12.04.2026
*Programme subject to change
Would you like to find out more about the Upper Austria Ladies Linz and expand your knowledge of the tournament's top stars? Then pick up a free copy at the Info Point! Click on the button to access the online version of our programme.
![ooe_echtjetzt_logo_6g_CMYK[2] (1)](https://ladieslinz.at/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/ooe_echtjetzt_logo_6g_CMYK2-1-rhzl5a4hsz1kzg04ulw60ozsjt5lqiuao7pgu6tzp4.png "ooe_echtjetzt_logo_6g_CMYK[2] (1)"){kind=logo}
![logo_wir erzeugen Zukunft[3]_page-0001](https://ladieslinz.at/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/logo_wir-erzeugen-Zukunft3_page-0001-r057xxhwmcr1mtpg3czw2430l8863tuzuq2z2pcznq.jpg "logo_we create the future[3]_page-0001"){kind=logo}
