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52-724: The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the tennis center Am Rothenbaum in the Harvestehude quarter. For much of its history, the tournament was contested in May, as a precursor to the French Open on the professional tennis calendar. Starting with the 2009 tournament , it has been held in July instead. The women's event was held initially separately from 1982 to 1983 (in Hittfeld), and again from 1987 through to 2002. It

104-552: A Grand Slam championship came when she got to the quarterfinals of the 1992 US Open , defeating Kateřina Kroupová-Šišková , Martina Navratilova , Kimberly Po and Chanda Rubin before losing to her older sister Manuela. In 1995, Maleeva won a total of three tournaments, in Moscow, Chicago, Oakland, which saw her hit a career-high ranking of No. 4 in January 1996. In June 1998, Maleeva underwent shoulder surgery, which forced her off

156-628: A best-of-three sets final. The first five editions, from 1892 to 1896, were exclusively open to German and Austrian players. From 1898 to 1901 the German Championships were held in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe . A men's doubles event was added to the tournament in 1902. In 1924, the tournament permanently moved to the current location in Am Rothenbaum . The German Open was a combined men's and women's tournament up until 1979 when

208-527: A clay court. In Britain, where En-Tout-Cas is based, most red clay courts have a surface dressing of burnt shale (with or without brick) for improving drainage. However, shale courts are now comparatively rare, having been steadily replaced in many clubs by all-weather synthetic surfaces (including artificial clay). The few courts that remain tend to be found in industrial areas such as central Scotland and Lancashire , as shale – known as blaes in Scotland –

260-469: A girl named Youlia, and on 13 December 2008, she gave birth to a second child, Marko, and on 20 August 2012 to their third child, Nina. Maleeva has been very active with the environmental organization ' Gorichka.bg ', which works to create public awareness about urgent environmental problems. She also has created ' Harmonica ', a brand for organic foods, as well as a couple of organic food stores in Sofia under

312-535: A player to deliver an unreturnable shot. Points are usually longer as there are fewer winners . Clay courts favor baseliners who are consistent and have a strong defensive game, leading to players such as Rafael Nadal , Björn Borg , Chris Evert , and Justine Henin finding success at the French Open. Players who excel on clay courts but struggle to replicate the same form on fast courts are known as clay-court specialists . Clay-court players generally play in

364-621: A product, and by the 1920s the company was responsible for laying clay courts for the Davis Cup and at the French , British and Canadian Championships. During the following decade the American engineer H. A. Robinson went still further, creating a surface based on classic clay augmented with green piled metabasalt rock, which he hoped would help deliver a more consistent bounce. This became known as Har-Tru, derived from Robinson's initials and

416-622: A quarterfinal run at the US Open, upsetting Martina Navratilova on the way. The following year, she reached the fourth round at the Australian , the French and the US Open , as well as the third round of Wimbledon . That same year, she was the opponent of Monica Seles at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany when a deranged fan stabbed Seles in the back on the court. Her best performance at

468-405: A semicircle about 1.5 to 3 metres (5 to 10 feet) behind the baseline. Clay courts favor the "full western grip " for more topspin . Clay court players use topspins to throw off their opponents. Movement on the loose surface is very different from movement on any other surface, often involving sliding toward the incoming ball while preparing for the return stroke. Clay courts are unique in that

520-403: A string of successes on other surfaces—including completing a Double Career Grand Slam and a Career Golden Slam —led to a broadening of his reputation. 2016 French Open winner Garbiñe Muguruza reached the 2015 Wimbledon final and won the 2017 Wimbledon title. The professional clay court season comprises many more tournaments than the brief grass court season, but is still shorter than

572-723: A thin layer of fine clay particles on top. Clay courts are more common in Continental Europe and Latin America than in North America, Asia-Pacific or Britain. The only Grand Slam tournament that uses clay courts is the French Open . Clay courts come in the more common red clay , which is actually crushed brick , and the slightly harder green clay , also known as "rubico", which is actually crushed metabasalt . Although slightly less expensive to construct than other types of tennis courts, clay requires much maintenance:

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624-503: Is a constituent element of colliery waste and thus can be easily and cheaply sourced in such locations. Shale courts tend to be a lighter shade of red than European clay courts. Aside from crushed brick and shale, other surfaces have also been used as a substitute for natural red clay. In Queensland and New South Wales , courts made from crushed ant hill mounds (known as "ant bed" or "dirt" courts) can occasionally be found; these are similar in appearance to standard red clay courts, as

676-458: Is a tennis player who excels on clay courts, more than on any other surface. Due in part to advances in racquet technology, current clay-court specialists are known for employing long, winding groundstrokes that generate heavy topspin; such strokes are less effective on faster surfaces on which the balls do not bounce as high. Clay-court specialists tend to slide more effectively on clay than other players. Many of them are also very adept at hitting

728-544: Is entirely in Europe, and usually takes place in July. Near the end of the swing, it overlaps with the beginning of the US Open Series . Magdalena Maleeva Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva ( Bulgarian : Магдалена Георгиева Малеева , pronounced [mɐɡdɐˈlɛnɐ mɐˈlɛɛvɐ] ; born 1 April 1975) is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. Her best WTA singles ranking was world No. 4. She played on

780-460: Is packed to make the court, with the top most layers consisting of finely crushed loose particles. Such courts are most common in Europe and Latin America. The exact color of the surface varies with the composition of the bricks used, and can appear from a light yellow to a deep red. Natural clay courts are rare because this type of surface does not absorb water easily and takes two to three days to dry. A good example of natural red clay can be seen at

832-548: Is the long spring clay season that starts in the Americas and Morocco before moving to mainland Europe and finishing with the French Open. It is usually played over two months between April and June, after the Miami Open . Unlike the other two clay seasons, this swing does not share the majority of its time with simultaneous hard court tournaments. The third is the brief summer clay season that takes place after Wimbledon. It

884-519: The German Open that was held concurrently with the men's event up to and including 1978, see German Open (WTA) Past finals . 53°34′25″N 9°59′29″E  /  53.57361°N 9.99139°E  / 53.57361; 9.99139 Clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis is played. Clay courts are built on a foundation of crushed stone, brick, shale, and other aggregate , with

936-642: The WTA Tour competing in singles and doubles , from April 1989 to October 2005 and has won ten career singles titles. Born in Sofia , Maleeva is the youngest of the three children of Yuliya Berberyan and Georgi Maleev. Yuliya, who came from a prominent Armenian family which found refuge in Bulgaria after the 1896 Armenian massacres in the Ottoman Empire , was one of the best Bulgarian tennis players in

988-932: The drop shot , which can be effective because rallies on clay courts often leave players pushed far beyond the baseline. Additionally, the slow, long rallies require a great degree of mental focus and physical stamina. The definition of "clay-court specialist" has varied. Anthony Wilding, Sergi Bruguera , Albert Costa and Gastón Gaudio were French Open champions who won all or nearly all of their career titles on clay. Andrés Gimeno , Adriano Panatta , Manuel Orantes , Yannick Noah , Michael Chang , Thomas Muster, Gustavo Kuerten , Carlos Moyá and Juan Carlos Ferrero won major titles only on clay, but won lower tournaments, including Masters Series events, on other surfaces. Among female players, there have been few whose best results were confined exclusively to clay. Virginia Ruzici , Anastasia Myskina , Iva Majoli , Sue Barker , Ana Ivanovic , Francesca Schiavone and Jeļena Ostapenko are

1040-645: The 'true' nature of the bounce experienced on the court. First used in Hagerstown, Maryland , in 1932, green Har-Tru clay soon became the preferred surface for American clay court tournaments. In later years, the Har-Tru company would go on to develop all-weather clay surfaces at its factory in Charlottesville, Virginia , that could be played on throughout the entire year. Almost all red clay courts are now made not of natural clay but of crushed brick that

1092-401: The 1960s. After she retired from professional tennis in the 1970s, Berberyan started on a coaching career. She trained all of her three daughters, Magdalena, Katerina and Manuela , each of whom eventually became WTA top six players. In 1988, Maleeva became the youngest ever national tennis champion of Bulgaria, at the age of 13 years and four months. She turned professional in 1989, reaching

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1144-470: The French Open (1976–78), to participate in World Team Tennis . She also has the highest career win percentage on clay courts (94.55%) during the open era. The most successful currently active female player on clay is Iga Świątek , who won the French Open in 2020 , 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 . In 2022 and 2024, Świątek won three titles and lost only one match on clay. A clay-court specialist

1196-539: The Frick Park Clay Courts in Pittsburgh , a public facility of six red clay courts that has been in continual use since 1930. Sports surface providers such as En-Tout-Cas still offer red clay surfaces with a coarser top layer to improve drainage. These courts are particularly popular in southern Australian states such as Victoria , where the phrase 'En-Tout-Cas' is a common generic shorthand for

1248-660: The US Open in 1977 while it was held on clay. Thomas Muster is also considered a successful clay court player; although he also only won the French Open once, 40 out of his 44 career singles titles were won on clay. Other notable players who had significant success on clay include Ivan Lendl and Björn Borg - the former winning the French Open in 1984, 1986, and 1987, while the latter won it 6 times. While often overshadowed by Nadal's clay successes due to being contemporaries, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic also were known for being extremely formidable on clay courts throughout their careers and had significant successes. Federer made

1300-532: The Vallauris terracotta pots, as the factory could not keep up with this eruption in demand. Courts covered in a top layer of brick dust thereafter became the norm in many Mediterranean and South American countries, as they were not only durable in summer but did not need to be tended and mowed, as grass courts did (although they did require regular maintenance involving rolling, "dragging", and occasional watering). Yet further improvements were still imperative, as

1352-620: The WTA event was moved to West Berlin . Since 2019, the tournament logo changed every year, using the trajectory of the ball in the championship point in the previous year's tournament to form the yellow line in the logo. The tournament joined the Grand Prix Tour from 1971 to 1989 with mixed importance. With the creation of the ATP Tour in 1990, the tournament was immediately classed as an ATP Masters Series event up until 2008. In 2009

1404-493: The ant hill "loam" or grit is pinky-brown in color. Top Australian competitors such as Mal Anderson , Roy Emerson and Rod Laver , who all grew up in Queensland, practiced on ant bed courts when they were young. Green clay, also known by brand names such as Har-Tru and Rubico, is made of crushed metabasalt rather than brick, making the surface slightly harder and faster than red clay. These courts are located primarily in

1456-428: The ball bounce leaves an impression in the ground, which can help determine whether a shot was in or out. Furthermore, clay courts are still playable in light rain because the courts are meant to be slightly wet when played on and the surface absorbs water better than hard courts and grass courts. This is opposed to hard courts and grass courts where play is usually suspended almost immediately during even light rain. In

1508-462: The bounce on these courts was often irregular, the surface dried slowly after rain had fallen, and the courts could not be used in winter months for fear of damage. In 1909, the newly-established Leicestershire firm En-Tout-Cas (translated roughly into English as "in all conditions") came up with a prototype court made from crushed brick and burnt shale that could drain much more quickly than standard clay courts. These proved very popular once offered as

1560-800: The brand ' Biomag '. She is also a partner at the Maleeva Tennis Club . In October 2010, Maleeva won the Bulgarian national outdoor championship, becoming the youngest and the oldest player to have won it, within 22 years. In 2011, she made a brief tennis comeback, playing and winning three doubles matches for Bulgaria at the Fed Cup . In March 2011, Maleeva was voted eighth in the "100 most influential women in Bulgaria" by Pari newspaper. She has also appeared at Wimbledon's ladies' invitation doubles event on several occasions, achieving her best result in 2015 , where she partnered Rennae Stubbs ;

1612-560: The court should be covered with a fine powder that would protect it from the sun's rays. This powder was sourced from discarded terracotta discovered at a small ceramics factory in Vallauris , near Cannes , where the brothers regularly purchased decorative pots for their garden. Success with the new surface came quickly: after only a year or two, it was reported that 104 clay courts had been built in Cannes alone. Brick powder soon replaced

Hamburg European Open - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-522: The final of her first professional tournament (ITF) at Bari . In her Grand Slam debut at the French Open in 1990, she passed the qualifications and reached the third round. In 1990, Maleeva won three junior Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian, French and US Open. In 1992, Maleeva snatched her first WTA Tour event victory in San Marino and scored her best Grand Slam tournament result with

1716-405: The final of the French Open every year from 2006 to 2009, finally winning the last one in the sequence, while Djokovic has won the title 3 times (2016, 2021, 2023), beating Nadal en route to the title in 2021. Federer is also notable for ending Nadal's 81 match win streak on clay courts in 2007 at the 2007 Hamburg Masters. On the women's side, Monica Seles , Justine Henin and Iga Swiatek hold

1768-786: The hard court seasons. There are three distinct clay court seasons during the year. The first is the men's South American clay season. Played primarily in February between the Australian Open and the Indian Wells Masters , the ATP has four tournaments in this swing, although other ATP tournaments played on hardcourt occur the same weeks. The WTA discontinued its participation in Rio de Janeiro after 2016, so there are no clay court women's tournaments during this period. The second

1820-601: The men's and women's German Open. This tournament was held the week prior to the men's German Open (whilst the women's German Open was held the week following the men's event in West Berlin). It existed as a lower tier tournament in 1982 and 1983 before a hiatus for three years. It was held in Hittfield. When the tournament then returned in 1987, it was held at Am Rothenbaum in September with German Steffi Graf winning

1872-615: The mid-Atlantic and southern United States. They are also found in Central and Eastern Canada. There is one WTA tournament played on green Har-Tru clay courts, the Charleston Open in Charleston, South Carolina . From 1975 until 1977, the US Open was played on Har-Tru clay courts. The US Men's Clay Court Championships are played on clay that has a maroon color. Not only is this a darker color than other clay courts used in

1924-587: The most wins at WTA Hamburg, winning it six times consecutively from 1987 to 1992. She also finished runner-up a further two times. This section contains information of finals for WTA Hamburg (1982–2002) and Hamburg European Open (from 2021) only. For information regarding finals of the German Open that was held concurrently with the men's event up to and including 1978, please see German Open (WTA) Past finals . This section contains information of finals for WTA Hamburg (1982–2002) and Hamburg European Open (from 2021) only. For information regarding finals of

1976-399: The only female players to have won major titles at only the French Open since the beginning of the open era. Increasingly, clay courters have attempted to play better on other surfaces, with some success. Ferrero reached the final of the US Open in 2003 , the same year he won the French Open , and also won several hardcourt tournaments. Nadal was considered a clay court specialist until

2028-520: The open era record for the number of consecutive French Open titles won at three (1990–1992 for Seles, 2005–2007 for Henin and 2022–2024 for Swiatek). In the pre-open era this feat was first achieved by Helen Wills Moody (1928–1930) and followed by Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling (1935–1937). Chris Evert holds the record for longest winning streak on clay for either gender in the open era: from August 1973 to May 1979, she won 125 consecutive clay court matches. During this time, Evert skipped three editions of

2080-637: The pre-open era Anthony Wilding is particularly notable for his achievements on clay courts. Starting in May 1910 at the Championship of South Africa and ending in June 1914 at the World Hard Court Championships he registered 120 consecutive clay court match victories. Rafael Nadal, winner of a record 14 French Open men's singles titles , is noted for his success on clay; since his debut in 2005, he has only lost four times at

2132-407: The professional game, but it is also a type of Har-Tru court, meaning it is actually composed of the same substance (basalt) as green clay courts, and not a type of red clay. Har-Tru market this kind of court as "American red clay". Clay courts are considered "slow" because the balls bounce relatively high and lose much of their initial speed when contacting the surface, making it more difficult for

Hamburg European Open - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-405: The start of the U.S. Open. The German Championships were a combined men's and women's tournament held in Hamburg up until the women's event moved to West Berlin in 1979. The women's championships were established in 1896 and held 66 editions with the men's event before the decision to separate the two events. A new WTA Hamburg tournament was established in 1982, three years after the separation of

2236-659: The surface must be watered and rolled regularly to preserve texture and flatness, and brushed carefully before each game. Clay courts, although now commonly associated with continental Europe, were the invention of the English tennis player William Renshaw (a seven times Wimbledon champion) and his twin brother Ernest . The Renshaws had built a grass court at their summer home on the French Riviera , but found it unable to withstand prolonged exposure to heat and sunlight. To remedy this, in 1890 William Renshaw decided that

2288-470: The tour for the next eleven months. She started competing again in May 1999 and re-entered top 20 in 2001. In 2002, she won the prestigious Kremlin Cup in Moscow, defeating three top-10 players on her way ( Venus Williams , Amélie Mauresmo , and Lindsay Davenport ). In 2004, she married her long-standing boyfriend, Lubomir Nokov. Maleeva won a career total of ten WTA titles in singles and five in doubles . She

2340-411: The tournament is classified as a WTA 125 tournament . The WTA refers to the event as the "ECE Ladies Hamburg Open." The inaugural edition was held at the 'Eisenbahnverein auf der Uhlenhorst' (Uhlenhorst Railway Club) and was played in a best-of-three sets format. From the second edition in 1893 onward the tournament was a best-of-five sets until 2007 when it reverted (like other non Grand Slam events) to

2392-520: The tournament saw its appeal to the verdict rejected in 2010. As the tournament stands now with its new position in the ATP calendar, it is an attractive event for many players who dislike playing on faster surfaces. Its new position will prevent top-ranked players from playing there, since it is after Wimbledon and the focus moves towards preparing for the North American summer hardcourt surface before

2444-417: The tournament was downgraded to an ATP Tour 500 event. According to tournament officials, this seriously hinders its ability to attract top-ranking players, who are more likely to participate in tournaments that earn them more points. Tournament officials sued the ATP in 2007 to stop the downgrade but a US jury decided in 2008 that it did not constitute a breach of monopoly laws. After a court-ordered mediation

2496-547: The tournament – in 2009 , 2015 , 2021 and 2024 . Nadal holds the record for the longest winning streak by any male player on a single surface since the Open Era began in 1968: 81 clay court wins between April 2005 and May 2007. He also holds the record for most clay court titles in the Open Era, with 63. Guillermo Vilas won 49 of his 62 singles titles on clay. He only won a single French Open title, although he also won

2548-622: The tournament. The German Open (men's) was held in late April to early May (with the women's event being held in Berlin from 11 May). In 1990 the tournament was promoted to Tier II status which it maintained until 2002 when the tournament was discontinued. It has been known by various names; the Casino Cup (1982), Fila Europa Cup (1983), Citizen Cup (1987–95), Rexona Cup (1996–97), Intersport Damen Grand Prix (1998), and Betty Barclay Cup (1999–2002). On April 30, 1993, Monica Seles, then-world No.1,

2600-579: Was part of the WTA Tour and existed under several different sponsored names, most commonly known as the Citizen Cup (1987–1995) and the Betty Barclay Cup (1999–2002). WTA Hamburg was the location where Monica Seles , then-world No.1, was stabbed during a match by a disorderly local tennis fan on April 30, 1993. In 2021, Hamburg returned to the calendar of the WTA tour, becoming part of its WTA 250 series category of tournaments. Since 2024

2652-576: Was stabbed by a disorderly local tennis fan during a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva . Seles never played in Germany again after the incident. Between 2003 and 2020, no tournaments were held in Hamburg. Hamburg returned to the WTA calendar in 2021 after it secured license in the 250 series from the Baltic Open that was previously held in Jūrmala, Latvia. Steffi Graf holds the record for

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2704-589: Was the recipient of the "WTA Most Improved Player 1993" award and was nominated for the "WTA Most Impressive Newcomer 1990". She participated at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta, and Athens. In October 2005, Maleeva retired from professional tennis after 16 seasons (years), and became the last of the Maleeva sisters to retire. She now lives in Sofia. On 27 June 2007, she gave birth to her first child,

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