Virtual reality tennis on this level was previously only known from the USA and Canada. Now, this form of tennis is also conquering Europe. The field of participants was more than impressive, with exactly 634 players playing a total of 6,195 matches. The best of these participants qualified for the grand final, which was played live at Erste Bank Open 2 Go on the grounds of the Wiener Eislauf-Verein on Heumarkt and streamed live on laola1.at.

The only requirement to participate in the Erste Bank Virtual Open was to meet technical requirements. Age, gender or ability did not play a role. In order to play, participants needed the "Tennis Esports" app, a pair of Meta Quest 2 or Pro VR goggles, an Internet connection and a playing surface of around 9 m². There were numerous tennis packages from Wilson to be won, and 1,000 euros in cash for the winner.

Dominik Beier, Managing Director of the e|motion Group: "For us, this was a highly interesting experiment to transfer the tennis tournament experience into the virtual reality world. We are all the more pleased that the concept worked out perfectly."