Tennis Stars Gear Up for Wimbledon in Bad Homburg and Beyond

Bad Homburg, Germany – With Wimbledon starting in just a week, many top players are competing in tune-up tournaments across Europe. Today in Bad Homburg, eighth seed Belinda Bencic will kick off play against an unnamed opponent, while fellow athlete Daria Alexandrova is also set to take the court later in the day.

Action is not limited to Bad Homburg; notable players are participating in events in Eastbourne and Mallorca as well. Fans can enjoy matches with some of the biggest names in tennis gearing up for the prestigious Grand Slam.

In other news, Elmer Moller, a young Danish player, has for the first time qualified for Wimbledon after Casper Ruud withdrew due to knee inflammation. Moller, who is first reserve, will enter the main draw without needing to compete further in qualifiers. He recently debuted at a Grand Slam during the French Open, where he lost in the first round.

Ruud’s manager, Tina Falster, confirmed the Norwegian star’s situation with NTB, stating, “He is back on the court and it is going well, but it is unfortunately too early to have to play the best of five sets.”

Meanwhile, controversy brewed in Bad Homburg between Maria Sakkari of Greece and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva following their first-round match. After a hard-fought contest that Sakkari won, tensions rose during their handshake at the net. Sakkari remarked, “When you shake hands with someone, look them in the eyes,” prompting an exaggerated curtsy from Putintseva.

Sakkari, addressing the situation with an on-court interviewer, expressed that there will be no reconciliation between them. “I don’t think she’s going to invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives, but I don’t care. I have good friends, and I’ll go to dinner with them. Let me leave it here, and just say that I have respect for her as a player, but that’s it,” she said.

Following the altercation, Sakkari now looks ahead to her next opponent as she continues her preparations for Wimbledon, beginning June 30.