Access to Gottfried-von-Cramm-Weg in Berlin’s Grunewald district is blocked. If you want to see a few tennis stars, you won’t be able to avoid a hygiene course these days. A part of the international tennis elite has been bustling in the capital since Monday. Number three in the world rankings, Dominic Thiem, and number eight, Matteo Berrettini, and Roberto Bautista Agut, the world’s twelfth best, have been serving since Monday. The women’s grass field competition is led by Elina Switolina, number five in the world, Kiki Bertens (7) and Petra Kvitova (12). Except for Berrettini, who went on vacation in the middle of the week, the other stars stayed in town to play another tournament on a hard court set up in a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport at the weekend. And yes, spectators are also allowed – a novelty in sports Germany during the Corona period.
The two invitation tournaments are a blueprint for the return to spectator sport. If you want to go to the facilities, you have to show a QR code that was sent when you bought a ticket. This also applies to media representatives. On site, a questionnaire must also be used to explain that there are no symptoms of Covid 19 and that they have not been in contact with the sick. Of course, fever is also measured – a new activity for security staff. “A child just asked me if we were going to scan the brain here,” laughed a security guard who told the “nd” when he held the heat meter up to the reporter’s forehead. After that, a hygiene lock has to be passed – an octagonal structure with entrance and exit through which steam flows, which is to disinfect.
Masks are also available at the entrance. Masks are required on both sites, only on the stands themselves, with loose seating with three free seats between individuals or groups of people from the same household, the textile may be removed.
Everywhere on the course of the LTTC Rot-Weiß in the Grunewald the tennis balls pop at the beginning of the week – in the light drizzle on Wednesday, but also when the sun is shining on the first days of the tournament on Monday and Tuesday. Only the freshly sown lawn in the Steffi Graf stadium and a training area were reserved for the six female and six male professionals. In all other red hard courts, the seniors of the club and the numerous training groups for children and adolescents challenge themselves on the networks. Professional sport is embedded in the – albeit upscale – popular sport. In football, it would be like going past the artificial turf pitches of amateur clubs on the way to the Bundesliga match.
The atmosphere is familiar. A few caterers have set up their stalls. Beach chairs invite you to linger. No trace of Corona fear. There was already playing on the club pitches beforehand. Bianca Krahl, a member of the Rot-Weiß club and a visitor to the professional tournament, mentions as a hygiene rule that goes beyond the running of the tournament: »Freshly washed and smelling good you should get there. But that’s enough, «she says with a laugh. She likes the atmosphere in the stadium. “The colors alone: the green of the lawn, the red of the stands and the blue of the sky,” she enthuses.
In fact, the sun is shining for the first two days. The slightly corroded seats of the Steffi Graf Stadium, which has not hosted a major tournament since 2008, are covered with bright red covers. The freshly sown lawn is a bit worn on the service line, but overall it still provides a lush green. It should spread Wimbledon flair at Hundehehlesee. »We originally planned a new tournament for the WTA women’s tour in June. It should be a preparatory tournament for Wimbledon, «says Edwin Weindorfer, organizer of the tournament. Then Corona came. »The WTA canceled all tournaments. We then agreed with our main sponsor to prepare the invitation tournament. At first it was planned without a spectator. Then the Berlin Senate allowed 1000 people on the site, «Weindorfer looks back. The 59-page hygiene concept then allowed up to 840 spectators in the open-air stadium. The remaining capacities were reserved for players, coaches, organizer staff and the media. In the closed hangar in Tempelhof only a maximum of 200 spectators are allowed in at the weekend.
However, you cannot find much more visitors on the first day on the grounds in the Grunewald. The organizers state 480 tickets sold. At the same time, however, you hardly see more than 200 people in the stands. The next day to the semi-finals, the German starters including the returning star Tommy Haas have all already left, 750 tickets have been sold, according to tournament director Barbara Rittner. Because of the distance rules, however, it looks very hard to get used to on the grandstand, which usually seats 4,500 people.
The mood nevertheless arises. Aces, passing balls and courageous network campaigns, especially by the two finalists Thiem and Berrettini, are repeatedly applauded. The Austrian Thiem always gets an appreciative »bravo« when one of his opponents plays a magnificent ball. He praises the atmosphere as stimulating. In relation to the rows of seats, which are sparsely filled due to corona, he says: “In other tournaments we often play in front of fewer spectators, especially if you have to start qualifying early at 11:00 am.”
The rain on Wednesday messes up a lot. The men’s final has to be postponed at seven hours from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., the women’s endgame will even be completely moved to Friday and the hard court in the Tempelhof airport hangar. After all: Thiem has been looking forward to this venue for a long time. »I will enjoy every ball. You probably only play in an airplane hangar once in a lifetime, «he says.
The fact that even the 840 spectators in the Steffi-Graf-Stadion was not reached at the beginning of the week may have been due to the rain on Wednesday, but rather on the sunny days before due to the expensive ticket prices: 120 to 150 euros had to be shelled out, only on Wednesday Some visitors come to the stadium for “only” 75 euros.
Organizer Edwin Weindorfer justifies the high prices with the costs for the expanded security concept. As a viewer selection about the money, he does not want to understand the pricing. »In Corona times, such a tournament doesn’t pay off economically anyway. You have to be happy if you can do anything at all, «he says. He describes the tournament as a “serve for the future.”
For the stars, it also offers the only opportunity in this season restricted by corona to play on grass at all. Wimbledon was canceled, all other tournaments on the surface too. The Berlin trip to the lawn is good for everyone.
In the end, there is even a sense of togetherness. When the rain clouds clear away on Wednesday evening, the sun comes out, the protective tarpaulin is pulled from the lawn and the last dampness is blown from the green with the help of a leaf blower, those who are allowed to play are and everyone else who comes back after seven hours of waiting find the ranks, somehow happy to attend the event.
There are no wild parties. Players and organizers have understood the lesson of the Adria Tour. The tournament, hosted by Novak Djokovic, the world’s number one, had at least four positive corona infections among the professionals after player parties. “We communicated to every athlete that we have absolute responsibility and that the players don’t have parties and don’t go out for dinner in the evening,” says Weindorfer. Even after a long wait for the final, the Italian Berrettini had not left the hotel, the losing finalist assures after the defeat.
The new event even brings some privileges for the spectators. You are expressly asked not to throw balls that jump on the stands back into the square, but to take them home with you. Just don’t trigger a smear infection. You should also take the seat cushion that every visitor receives from the organizer with you. “But only everyone’s own, not a whole package,” warns the stadium spokesman on Tuesday. Some visitors apparently tried to compensate for the high admission price with natural goods the day before. Humans remain a deficiency, even in the pandemic.
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