'Paris a special challenge for Angelique Kerber,' says Barbara Rittner
World No. 2 Angelique Kerber begins the season later this month in Perth where she will represent Germany at the Hopman Cup before moving on to the first Grand Slam of the year Australian Open. Melbourne also happens to be where she won her first Grand Slam 3 years ago.
After winning Wimbledon in 2018, she now just needs to win the French Open to complete a career slam. The competition will be tougher with the emergence of Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens, along with world number 1 Simona Halep. Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and Karolina Pliskova all form a group of players who are capable of making a deep Grand Slam run.
Speaking about Germany's number one tennis player, Barbara Rittner - the head of women's tennis at the German Tennis Association (DTB) told DW:
"If you have already won the other three titles, Paris is a special challenge. Clay is not her favourite surface, it gets very slow when it's wet. But you never know. A lot of things have to go right, but if the weather in Paris is nice, including the week before the tournament, there could be an opening."
However, Rittner is confident about Kerber's chances of defending her title in Wimbledon – as she begins to play under the tutelage of her new coach Rainer Schüttler. She split from coach Wim Fissette before the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, where she didn't go through the group stage.
Kerber had become the first German since Steffi Graf in 1996 to win at the Wimbledon when she defeated 7-time champion Serena Williams in straight sets earlier in the year.
Known for her aggressive counter-punching all-court game, Kerber will look to complete her career slam and look to build on the success of 2018.