[ad_1]
Upper Austria Ladies Linz has already experienced and seen a lot in its 30-year history, and many viewers saw what happened here at Austria’s largest women’s tennis tournament: world number one, Grand Slam winners, triumphs and Tragedies. But tournament director Sandra Reichel has never experienced anything like this this year, and no spectators have ever seen it. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the anniversary edition can only take place with the exclusion of fans, at the beginning of the week it was not even clear if it would even do that.
However, Reichel is positive, there is nothing else she can do anyway. “We have to be happy and grateful that we are allowed to host the tournament,” he said the day before qualifying began and two days before Sunday’s draw. “It’s not that natural.”
Despite restrictions and the reluctance of some of the best players to travel, an attractive field has developed for which much remains to be done. The number one is Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, also sensational semifinalist of the French Open, Argentine Nadia Podoroska, is in the Tips-Arena. Sabalenka could make the headlines if she at least reached the quarterfinals in Linz: then she slotted 10th Serena Williams into the top ten in the world rankings, she is herself in this circle for the first time and will remain so until the end of the year.
Local hero Haas
In contrast to the men’s tournament in Vienna last week, the last event at the moment, in which spectators were still allowed, in Linz, where not only will the last WTA tournament take place in 2020, but also a more competitive tournament. All over the world, the stars did not strike in rows. Two things would have hurt: “Due to the media attention that there is a closure in Austria, a lot of people have contacted me to ask if it is still possible to enter the country. That made some players uneasy,” says Reichel. Also, some players had “mentally finished” their season prior to that. “It would have been nice to have a player in the top ten here, but in that case the conditions are different.”
After all, Austria’s number one Barbara Haas has a new chance. The local hero in the strictest sense has received a wild card as number 146 in the world and is therefore in the main competition for the fifth time.
“It’s great that the only WTA tournament is currently taking place here in Linz,” says the 24-year-old, who recently completed “intensive phases of good training,” as she puts it. “I am happy that the competition is starting again.” His previous appearances haven’t given him much cause for joy, of course, and he’s never made it past the first round. Upper Austria does not want to speculate on its current chances, but Reichel is positive: “I have to repeat myself: it has the potential, if it wins a match like this, it can move on. I would like it to.”
Optimism seems to be the motto of the event, outwardly at least. After the lockdown, according to Reichel, who is planning a bitter financial loss, only the safety precautions and mandatory Sars-CoV-2 tests cost around 180,000 euros, it would have been easy to cancel the tournament this year. “But I don’t give up so easily.” He also learned that in the history of the Austrian Ladies of Upper Austria.(art / what)
