Image: Scheuer
Image: city photo/Pelzl
It was boiled down in the truest sense of the word: Mickey Lawler, the President of the women’s profit tennis organization WTA, raved about the Sachertorte and apple strudel, which she was served during her stay here in Austria. But it would not have taken any culinary persuasion at the Upper Austria Ladies in Linz to convince Lawler of the Linz location.
The American travels around the world all year round – but rarely does she visit the smaller tournaments in the 250 category in terms of prize money. Here, too, the worldwide recognition speaks for Linz. “Here in the city, you can literally feel the history everywhere. And the tournament location with the Design Center, the hotel right next door and the perfect infrastructure is ideal,” enthused the sports manager who had traveled from Florida.
Peter Michael Reichel, the inventor of the Linz tournament, is sure to like hearing that. Together with his daughter sandra he has made Linz a fixed point on the worldwide tournament map of the WTA for around three decades. Established in 1991, the event has over the years been attended by stars from Serena Williams above Maria Sharapova until Martina Navratilova have participated is an integral part of the WTA calendar. “Everything works here. For me, Linz has the potential for a 500 tournament,” said Lawler yesterday.
Successful change of location
The move back from the TipsArena to the former Design Center venue has paid off. “We have more space, more options,” says tournament director Reichel. And these advantages were also used in the best possible way. Yesterday’s Austrian women’s sports symposium “Advantage Ladies” was well attended with celebrities from sports, business and politics. “I am pleased that something big is being created around Austria’s most important international women’s sporting event, which will help women in sport gain more visibility,” said Minister of Sport Werner Koglerwho is next to geneticists Markus HengstschlägerMaria Smoke KallatPresident of the Paralympic Committee (ÖPC), and Minister for Women Suzanne Raab panelist was.
Image: city photo/Pelzl
Prominent listeners were ex-European swimming champion Mirna Jukic, European Table Tennis Champion Liu Jia and wheelchair tennis player Tina Pesendorfer, who will be showing her skills today (4 p.m.) on Center Court. At the five panels of the day in the full lecture hall, ÖFB team bosses exchanged among others Irene FuhrmanOÖN Editor-in-Chief Suzanne DicksteinÖTV sports coordinator Marion Maruska and Tournament Ambassador Barbara Schett their experiences.
Source: Nachrichten
