November 8, 2022

World star Simona Halep comes to Linz

Linz, 26. 10. 2021 - Shooting star meets world star for a duel of the generations! Where? At the "Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021" from 6 to 12 November in the TipsArena. Because the 18-year-old Brit Emma Raducanu, the sensational winner of the US Open, has now been joined by Simona Halep a megastar of women's tennis. The 30-year-old Romanian, who will receive a wild card in Linz, has already won two Grand Slam tournaments, a total of 20 WTA tournaments and almost 38 million US dollars in prize money in her fantastic career. From 2017 to 2019, Halep won the "WTA Fan Favourite" award for the world's most popular player among tennis fans three times in a row.

"I'm really looking forward to playing in Linz again for the first time since 2012. I haven't been able to play as much as I'd planned this season, so it's a great opportunity for me to be able to play another indoor tournament. I hope to end the season on a high in Linz and thank tournament director Sandra Reichel for the wildcard," said Halep, who missed the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo this season due to a serious calf injury.

The two Grand Slam tournaments of all things that she has already won. The triumphs at the French Open 2018 (3:6, 6:4, 6:1 in the final against Sloane Stephens) and at Wimbledon 2019 (6:2, 6:2 against Serena Williams) were Simona Halep's greatest successes, as she was ranked number one in the world for a total of 64 weeks between October 2017 and January 2019.

Halep won her first WTA title at a tournament organised by Sandra Reichel

Romania's biggest sports star has a special, emotional connection to the WTA tournaments organised by Sandra Reichel's sports agency MatchMaker. In June 2012, Halep took part in the "Nuremberg Gastein Ladies" in Bad Gastein, in October 2012, Halep was a guest at the women's tennis classic in Linz, and on 15 June 2013, Halep won her first singles title on the WTA Tour in Nuremberg. In the final, she defeated top German player Andrea Petkovic 6:3 and 6:3! "I've known Simona for a very long time and she's never changed. Not only is she an incredibly great tennis player who is a shining example of work ethic and fighting spirit, she is also an extremely warm, lovely person," says Tournament Director Sandra Reichel.

Simona Halep is coming to the "Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021" as a newlywed: on 15 September 2021, she married her partner, entrepreneur and multi-millionaire Toni Iuruc, in her native Constanta.

Tennis millionaire Halep also has a big heart for children. Halep donates generously to help children play tennis. The project, which was initiated by the Romanian Tennis Federation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, aims to increase the number of Romanian tennis professionals by encouraging children to play tennis from a young age. Halep has also set up a foundation, which she intends to dedicate herself to after the end of her tennis career.

GlobeAir becomes official travel partner of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz

The partners and sponsors of the "Upper Austria Ladies Linz" are also enthusiastic about the Romanian world star's commitment. For example Bernhard FragnerCEO of GlobeAir. "Performance, speed and efficiency are key values of the DreamTeam and are reflected in the service provided by GlobeAir. These attributes are the focus of top athletes and form the basis of the cooperation as official travel partner of the WTA Linz. For the world's best tennis players, this cooperation means a smooth transfer from all over Europe with maximum time savings and the gain of training and recovery phases, as well as a minimised risk of a possible CoViD-19 infection. As a company based in Hörsching, it is particularly important to us in these challenging times to be able to bring the WTA team and all partners involved around the Reichel family - including all fans of top tennis - even closer to 'Smart Travelling', which has gained in importance due to the pandemic."

Tickets available from 20 euros via OETICKET

Tickets for the "Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021" are available via www.oeticket.com or via the ticket hotline 0900 94 96 096 (Monday - Sunday from 10-19 hrs) from 20 euros.

On Saturday, 6 November, the qualifying matches are FREE ADMISSION! On GIRLS' DAY (Sunday, 7 November), all children up to the age of 16 are admitted free of charge. On LADIES' DAY (Monday), all female tennis fans will be welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine and ÖTV championship players will receive a 50 % discount on their ticket.

Download Simona Halep's greeting video here: