The Hologic WTA Tour grass swing sticks around in Germany for the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt, one of two WTA 500 grass-court tournaments this coming week.
Bad Homburg is one of the newest key stops on tour, with its inaugural edition taking place in 2021. After spending its first three years as a WTA 250 event, the Bad Homburg Open will be a WTA 500 event for the first time in 2024.
Maria Sakkari and Libema Open champion Liudmila Samsonova top the field, along with rising teen Mirra Andreeva, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, and German star Angelique Kerber, the first-ever champion at this event.
Here are more facts and figures you need to know about the 2024 Rothesay International:
When does the tournament start?
Bad Homburg features an early start to the week, with main-draw action kicking off on Sunday, June 23. The tournament runs seven days through Saturday, June 29.
There is only one round of qualifying and it will take place on Saturday, June 22.
When are the finals?
The singles final will be on Saturday, June 29 at 1:30 p.m. The doubles final will take place after the singles final on Saturday.
How big are the fields?
The main draw will hold 32 players (no first-round byes), including four wild cards and four qualifiers.
The doubles main-draw field consists of 16 teams, including two wild-card pairings.
The Slazenger Wimbledon ball will be used at the event.
What does the draw look like?
The full main draw can be found here on the WTA website.
Who were last year's champions?
Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic won last year's singles title, defeating Italy's Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6(5). Siniakova was previously the runner-up to Angelique Kerber at the inaugural edition in 2021.
Last year's doubles title went to Ingrid Martins and Lidziya Marozava. In the final, they defeated Eri Hozumi and Monica Niculescu 6-0, 7-6(3).
Who is playing?
1. Maria Sakkari
Ranking: 9
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 19-11
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: First appearance
2. Liudmila Samsonova
Ranking: 15
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 15-14
2024 WTA singles titles: 1
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: 2-2 (Best result: 2023 quarterfinals)
3. Emma Navarro
Ranking: 17
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 26-13
2024 WTA singles titles: 1
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: 3-1 (Best result: 2023 semifinals)
Die Trainingscourts sind bereits gut besucht! Die Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt rücken immer näher! 👀 pic.twitter.com/7Sup1zXy4l
— Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt (@badhomburgopen) June 20, 2024
4. Beatriz Haddad Maia
Ranking: 18
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 14-15
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: First appearance
5. Victoria Azarenka (withdrawn)
Azarenka withdrew from the tournament on Sunday due to illness.
6. Ekaterina Alexandrova
Ranking: 20
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 17-16
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: First appearance
7. Elina Svitolina
Ranking: 21
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 17-10
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: First appearance
8. Mirra Andreeva
Ranking: 23
2024 WTA Tour-level W-L: 17-8
Career Bad Homburg main-draw record: First appearance
Main-draw wild cards have gone to former World No.1 Wozniacki, Libema Open runner-up Andreescu, former World No.2 Paula Badosa and current German No.1 Tatjana Maria.
The former Bad Homburg champions in the field are Kerber (2021), who entered via her protected ranking following maternity leave, and Siniakova (2023).
Eine gut gelaunte Turnierbotschafterin hat heute ihre erste Trainingseinheit absolviert ✅ pic.twitter.com/5wAhF61Wga
— Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt (@badhomburgopen) June 20, 2024
What are the points and prize money on offer in the singles main draw?
Champion: 500 points/€123,480
Finalist: 325 points/€76,225
Semifinals: 195 points/€44,526
Quarterfinals: 108 points/ €23,445
Second round: 60 points/€12,625
First round: 1 point/€8,825
How did last year's grass-court swing play out?
Here's a look at the champions and finalists from last year's Hologic WTA Tour grass-court events:
Nottingham (WTA 250): Katie Boulter d. Jodie Burrage
‘s-Hertogenbosch (WTA 250): Ekaterina Alexandrova d. Veronika Kudermetova
Berlin (WTA 500): Petra Kvitova d. Donna Vekic
Birmingham (WTA 250): Jelena Ostapenko d. Barbora Krejcikova
Eastbourne (WTA 500): Madison Keys d. Daria Kasatkina
Bad Homburg (WTA 250 last year; WTA 500 this year): Katerina Siniakova d. Lucia Bronzetti
Wimbledon (Grand Slam): Marketa Vondrousova d. Ons Jabeur
