Know about Steffi Graf Stadion where the final of bett1open will take place between Petra Kvitova and Donna Vekic
The Steffi Graf Stadion is the main court at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club as well as the venue for the final of the bett1open between Petra Kvitova and Donna Vekic on Sunday (June 25).
The Rot-Weiss Tennis Club was formed in 1897 and a number of tennis tournaments have been held on the main court. These included the now-defunct German Pro Championships and the ongoing bett1open.
The old centre court had a seating capacity of 3500 spectators and was replaced by a new one in 1996, which had a capacity of 7000. The court was called Berlin Tennis Arena and was renamed to Steffi Graf Stadion on September 25, 2004, in honor of the German, who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles.
The Steffi Graf Stadion will host the women's singles final at the bett1open which will be contested by seventh seed Petra Kvitova and Donna Vekic.
Kvitova has looked in good touch throughout the tournament and hasn't dropped a single set en route to the final, beating Karolina Pliskova, Nadia Podoroska, Caroline Garcia, and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Vekic produced one of the upsets of the WTA 500 event by defeating second seed Elena Rybakina in the second round. The Croat then ousted Elena Avanesyan and Maria Sakkari to reach the final.
Kvitova and Vekic will lock horns for the sixth time, with the Czech leading their head-to-head 4-1. Their last encounter came in the third round of the Miami Open, with Kvitova winning 6-4, 7-6(3).
Steffi Graf is the most successful player in the history of the bett1open
Steffi Graf is the greatest competitor in the history of the bett1open, with a whopping nine titles to her name.
Her first title win at the tournament came in 1986 when it was held in Hamburg, where she beat Martina Navratilova 6-4, 7-5 in the final. She won in each of the next three editions before losing in the final of the 1990 edition.
Graf then triumphed from 1990-1994 before claiming her final title in 1996. The German's last appearance at the bett1open came in 1999 when she was seeded third. She reached the quarterfinals following wins over Sandra Nacuk and Cara Black before losing 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to eventual runner-up Julie Halard-Decugis.
A few weeks after her exit in Berlin, Graf won her 22nd and final Grand Slam singles title at the French Open by beating Martina Hingis in the title clash. The 1999 season turned out to be the final year of the German's illustrious career.