"It was great from start to end," tournament director Herwig Straka aptly summed it up. "We had a record year last year. To top that again was hard to imagine, but we did it. We changed the design together with Erste Bank, and that has generated positive feedback worldwide. In addition, the tournament went extremely well from a sporting point of view with the four top players in the semi-finals, and 'Erste Bank Open 2 Go' also developed very well. The crowd there was larger than in previous years, on Thursday it was incredible. We are of course delighted when this concept works out so well. This year, with 73,000 spectators, we were able to increase our attendance even more compared to last year, and we are proud of that. I would also like to thank my team, who once again did a great job," said Straka.
As for next year's field of competitors, Straka said everything is still open. "I am very keen on Jannik Sinner playing here again, and of course Carlos Alcaraz is also an issue for us. Our goal is to get the best players to the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The next generation is on the rise and plays with an incredible intensity, as you saw in Sinner's matches against Ben Shelton or Andrey Rublev. We will watch the development closely and see what happens between now and spring," Straka added.
"Everyone went home with a smile"
For the main sponsor, Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller was also happy: "The week showed again how important such events are for Vienna. We had a sensational event, everyone went home with a smile. That is what distinguishes this tournament. The new design and branding was extremely important to us and worked very well. We're continuing to work on little things, because we always want to add something on top and we'll do that for next year." The campaign to plant ten trees for every ace at the Erste Bank Open was also heading for a record this year: "There will be around 660 to 670 aces. That will be just under 7,000 trees that we plant in the Waldviertel," explained Holzinger-Burgstaller.
"It was a fantastic tournament again. The matches during the week have shown that the interest is independent of whether an Austrian player goes far or not. This also shows the euphoria in the population that such an event can take place here. We also had our own activities for children, which are a particular concern of mine. After all, it's also about getting children and young people excited about the sport, and here is a unique opportunity to do so. The changes in the Wiener Stadthalle have also gone down well, visually this has looked great on site and on TV. This is an advertisement for our great city. I am pleased that everything worked so excellently," emphasized Peter Hacker, city councilor for sports.
"It was wonderful to look at all the happy faces this week. That is something that sets the Stadthalle apart. I would like to thank Herwig Straka and his team, as well as the Stadthalle team. It is unbelievable that every year we manage to do something even better, so I am already looking forward to next year," said Stadthalle Managing Director Matthäus Zelenka.
As for next year's field of competitors, Straka said everything is still open. "I am very keen on Jannik Sinner playing here again, and of course Carlos Alcaraz is also an issue for us. Our goal is to get the best players to the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The next generation is on the rise and plays with an incredible intensity, as you saw in Sinner's matches against Ben Shelton or Andrey Rublev. We will watch the development closely and see what happens between now and spring," Straka added.
"Everyone went home with a smile"
For the main sponsor, Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller was also happy: "The week showed again how important such events are for Vienna. We had a sensational event, everyone went home with a smile. That is what distinguishes this tournament. The new design and branding was extremely important to us and worked very well. We're continuing to work on little things, because we always want to add something on top and we'll do that for next year." The campaign to plant ten trees for every ace at the Erste Bank Open was also heading for a record this year: "There will be around 660 to 670 aces. That will be just under 7,000 trees that we plant in the Waldviertel," explained Holzinger-Burgstaller.
"It was a fantastic tournament again. The matches during the week have shown that the interest is independent of whether an Austrian player goes far or not. This also shows the euphoria in the population that such an event can take place here. We also had our own activities for children, which are a particular concern of mine. After all, it's also about getting children and young people excited about the sport, and here is a unique opportunity to do so. The changes in the Wiener Stadthalle have also gone down well, visually this has looked great on site and on TV. This is an advertisement for our great city. I am pleased that everything worked so excellently," emphasized Peter Hacker, city councilor for sports.
"It was wonderful to look at all the happy faces this week. That is something that sets the Stadthalle apart. I would like to thank Herwig Straka and his team, as well as the Stadthalle team. It is unbelievable that every year we manage to do something even better, so I am already looking forward to next year," said Stadthalle Managing Director Matthäus Zelenka.
