The 25th edition of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open is taking place from September 11th to September 19th. Discover the key numbers behind Luxembourg’s landmark tennis event.
Image Credits: Valentin Balan / Unsplash
After the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the Covid pandemic, the Luxembourg WTA 250 tournament is back in Kockelscheuer this year. Here are the key statistics behind the Luxembourg Tennis Open.
250
The BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open is a WTA 250 tournament, the fourth highest category of tournaments on the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour behind the WTA 500 tournaments, the WTA 1000 tournaments, and the Grand Slams.
1996
Although the tournament was held since 1991, the Luxembourg Open was an exhibition tournament until 1995. 1996 was the first time the Luxembourg Open was held as an official WTA tournament. After the cancellation of the 2020 edition, this year’s edition marks the 25th anniversary of the official tournament.
2
The Luxembourg Open uses 2 courts at the CK Sportcenter in Kockelscheuer (Center Court and Court 1). The event is played indoors on hard courts. The surface is Deco Turf, the same surface used at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the US Open.
32
There are 32 players in the singles draw, including 6 qualifiers and 3 wild-cards (tournament entry awarded to a player at the discretion of the organizers). There are 16 pairs of players in the doubles draw.
€189,708
This year’s total prize money amounts to €189,708 ($235,238), the standard amount at all WTA 250 events in 2021. This is a 5.9% decrease compared to 2019’s total prize money ($250,000). The tournament’s winner will receive a cheque (or rather a bank transfer) for €23,548, which is a 32.09% decrease compared to what the 2019 champion Jelena Ostapenko earned two years ago.
175
Mandy Minella, Luxembourg’s number 1 player, is ranked 175th on the WTA tour. She is one of the three wild-card recipients. At 35, Minella will make her final appearance at the BGL BNP Paribas Open this year, as she plans to retire at the end of the season.
12
The number 1 seed at this year’s tournament is the Swiss player Belinda Bencic, who is ranked 12th in the world. She won the gold medal at this year’s Olympic tournament in Tokyo and recently lost in the quarter finals of the US Open against teenage champion Emma Raducanu.
5
Retired Belgian tennis champion Kim Clijsters holds the record for most single wins with 5 trophies (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005). No other player has won the event more than twice.
8 million
Over the past years, the tournament has been watched by a total of over 8 million viewers, according to the Minister for Finances Pierre Gramegna, making it one of the most important sporting events in the Grand Duchy. The American broadcaster Tennis Channel is among the television networks around the globe broadcasting the event.
