From Down Under to Upper Austria: WTA Linz between tradition and innovation

With the 2023 tennis season well underway after kicking off Down Under, the countdown to the Upper Austria Ladies Linz from 5 to 12 February is now entering its final stages. Excitement is mounting ahead of the 32nd edition of the world’s second oldest women’s indoor tournament where the main draw field is headed by the world No. 7 Maria Sakkari from Greece. The event is also looking forward to welcoming the WTA President Micky Lawler as its honorary guest. It will be her first ever visit to Linz. Staged in the picturesque city of Linz nestling in the beautiful region of Upper Austria close to the German and Czech borders, the time-honoured tournament is Austria’s most important event for women. Not only has it hosted 18 of the 28 world No. 1s, the roll-of-honour includes legends like Jana Novotna, Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Aryna Sabalenka. Many superstars have competed in Linz, especially early on in their careers, like for instance "Coco" Gauff who won her first WTA title here in 2019 at the tender age of 15.

Tradition and innovation

Whilst tradition is important, innovation is also a key element as reflected by the 2023 Upper Austria Linz being certified with the “Österreichische Umweltzeichen für Green Events” – an official seal of approval for sustainability issued by the Austrian government. It is additionally mirrored by the tournament’s new date in the WTA calendar. After being held for a long time in autumn, the event has moved back again to the start of the season. “We were considering changing the date for a long time. The many adjustments to the WTA’s calendar have meant that a great new opportunity has opened up. We can now continue our story in February after the Australia swing. Just like when we began 31 years ago,” says the long-time Tournament Director Sandra Reichel, “Wonderful memories of the birth of the Linz WTA tournament are currently flooding back.” Not only is there a new date but the tournament is making an eagerly awaited return to the Design Center Linz. Justine Henin, the last winner at the venue back in 2002, also has a soft spot for the arena. The seven-time Grand Slam champion from Belgium sent a video message saying: “Twenty years ago, I won the tournament in Linz and it brings back fabulous memories for me. I’ve heard the adventure keeps going there and also that you are going back to the Design Center, which is a lot of memories for me.”

The armada of up-and-coming young stars is led, as mentioned, by 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova. She has already made headlines this year with her appearance in the final in Adelaide. 21-year-old Anastasia Potapova has already entered the WTA winners' list; she celebrated her premiere title on the tour in Istanbul in April 2022.

“Tournament week of superlatives”

Enough of the wonderful tradition, everybody is concentrating on the exciting present at the 2023 Upper Austria Ladies Linz where Sandra Reichel has promised a “tournament week of superlatives”. Heading the entry list is the Maria Sakkari. After hearing only the best from the tournament, the Grand Slam semifinalist at the 2021 French and US Opens posted that she “cannot wait to play in front of everybody”. Another stand-out name on the excellent entry list is USA’s Sofia Kenin. The 2020 Australian Open winner is on the comeback trail saying, “I am healthy and hungry again and I’m grateful that I got the wildcard for this great tournament. I had a quite good start in 2023 with the semis in Hobart and I‘m looking forward to following up at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.” Other favourites for the title are the world No. 17 Ekaterina Alexandrova, Donna Vekic (Croatia) who reached the quarterfinals this year in Melbourne and the Czech Katerina Siniakova, the seven-time Grand Slam doubles winner who also won Olympic gold in Tokyo. They will be joined at the WTA 250 tournament by two former Linz winners as Italy’s Camila Giorgi, the victor in 2018, has qualified for the main draw. After a serious knee injury, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2015) will be making a comeback in qualifying after being given a wild card. As always, the Upper Austria Ladies Linz will showcase up-and-coming youngsters. This year all eyes will be on the talented 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova (No 56), the recent Adelaide 1 runner-up, and Germany’s Jule Niemeier (23) who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. Two other young players eager to make her mark in Linz are the 21-year-olds Anastasia Potapova, who claimed her first ever WTA title in Istanbul in April 2022, and Eva Lys. The German recently qualified for her first ever Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open. Home interest will center on Julia Grabher. Austria’s No. 1 broke into the Top 100 last year and is currently ranked 89. She made her first ever Grand Slam appearance at this year’s Australian Open and will be looking to continue her good form at her “season highlight”. Looking to join her in the main draw will be the local hero Barbara Haas, a long time Austrian No. 1. She has been given a qualifying wild card. The tournament draw – presented by LINZ AG – will take place at a special ceremony in the Ars Electronia Center, the “Museum of the Future”, at 1.00 pm on 5 February. A number of top players will be in attendance.

Off-court highlights

Off court at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, the main highlight of the programme of side events is the 1st Austrian Ladies Sport Symposium on Friday, 10 February. The opening panel will include none other than the President of the WTA, Micky Lawler. An honorary guest of the tournament, she will spend four days in the city. “The Upper Austria Ladies Linz has an incredible history,” says Lawler. “The best players in the world participated here during the last decades. This is my first time in Austria, and I am very much looking forward to the atmosphere in the Design Center where a great programme has been put together by Sandra Reichel and her team.” The side events will also include a special fitness programme on the Health Court in the Linzer Design Center’s Public Village where there will be several info booths and a cooperation with “Aktion Pink Ribbon”, an Austria Cancer Foundation campaign. On Saturday, there will also be an inclusion day with an exhibition match between Austria’s top wheelchair players Vanessa Jenewein and Christina Pesendorfer and two WTA pros.