Yesterday, the European Open, a tennis tournament for some of the best players, started at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp. Names like Dimitrov, Goffin, Thiem and Tsitsipas will pass in review. The final will be played on Sunday 22 October.
It is only the eighth edition of this tournament, which is part of the ATP World Tour and the only one of this calibre in Belgium. It is both a singles and doubles tournament.
Key players
Initially, the organisation had managed to rope in two current and two former top 10 players, but Jannik Sinner has already forfeited. He is currently ranked 7th. Who will be there is Stefanos Tsitsipas. He is ranked 5th in the world rankings and has been playing at the very top for a while.
Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov, who are both former 3’s, will also be in attendance.
Belgium’s David Goffin received a wildcard from the organisation. He is only ranked 100 in the ATP ranking and did not return to action after losing to Dennis Novak on 23 August. He was still selected for the Daviscup encounter with Uzbekistan, but he decided not to come as he did not feel ready for the competition. He also suited up for the Saint-Tropez Challenger in September. He did still play the Challenger in Orleans, where he made it to the quarter-finals.
Other Belgian talents are Gilles-Arnaud Bailly and Alexander Blockx. They too received wildcards from the organisation, as they are not high enough in the ranking to qualify themselves. The 18-year-old Blockx won the Australian Open in the juniors early this year, and is also the world number 10 in that category.
Arnaud-Bailly made his debut against Goffin in the first round last year, and was able to defend solidly, but still had to lose. It has already been an exciting year for the young Belgian, who moved from the junior to the senior category and won his first ITF title in but.
The previous winner of the European Open, Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, will not be there this time. He beat the American Sebastian Korda last year.
Potential problems
There has been a lot of talk recently about the tennis balls the athletes have to play with. The old match balls are weighted down, as that should slow down the pace of play. This should make it easier and more enjoyable for the public to watch the match.
But this also affects the athletes. They already have to play with different balls almost every tournament, requiring them to adapt to find the right balance of power. By playing with increasingly heavier balls, many tennis players experience faster wrist pain. According to some, such as Zizou Bergs, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, it would even cause more wrist injuries. They addressed tennis federations and tournament organisers, so the call to action is all set. According to Bergs, there should only be one type of ball, on which brands and tournaments can put their design or name.
