The young woman with the large tennis backpack and her curly gray companion with the cap are not a conspicuous figure.
In the morning they walk down Kisseleffstrasse in the direction of the Kurpark in casual sportswear.
From Sunday onwards, world-class players like Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitová, Wiktoryja Asaranka and Sloane Stephens will fight for world ranking points and prize money at the Bad Homburg Open before they head straight to Wimbledon.
Bernhard Biener
Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Hochtaunus district.
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But the clay courts of the Bad Homburg tennis club, which were not occupied by the tournament, are also now used by its members. Perhaps one should have taken a closer look at the alleged amateur player anyway: As it turns out, she has access authorization, the security guard lets her pass on the blocked road. And didn't she and her alleged trainer speak English?
It is the chance of chance encounters with the stars that makes an event like the WTA tournament, which was held in Bad Homburg for the first time, into an attractive affair for fans of the sport. Besides the performance on the pitch, of course. For a long time it was not clear whether, because of the pandemic, spectators could even be present on the tournament grounds, on which the Center Court holds more than 3,500. It has only been clear since the beginning of the month that 600 will be admitted per day. Many fans who bought a ticket in the previous year had to be put off until 2022 if they didn't want the money back.
The restriction means that outside of the spa park you won't notice much of the tournament. Even the traffic is hardly affected because the manageable number of spectators does not require major diversions or a shuttle bus service. Which of course does not exclude the trouble on a small scale. “Such an effort for a bit of tennis,” complains a woman with walking sticks when she has to move onto the street on Paul-Ehrlich-Weg because of the many vans. The catering is currently being delivered there.
City manager Tatjana Baric and her colleagues from city marketing had thought about a few things to bring the tennis atmosphere into the city center.
The broadcast of games on the big screen, late-night shopping, an “aperitivo market” to end the day in a relaxed manner: the name Wimbledon stimulates the imagination.
"We had already made good progress in planning in 2020," says Baric.
Then the tournament had to be canceled entirely.
And the fight against the virus does not allow the fight against the virus to deliberately attract larger crowds.
You have to look for the fabric displays with tennis motifs
But there is a first serve - to stay in the picture: Tournament flags at the town hall and in front of the Kurhaus next to those in Bad Homburg blue and white announce the major sporting event. On the other hand, you have to look for the fabric displays with tennis motifs provided by the city for the shops. There is one each in the Louisen-Center and in the Louisen-Arkaden, and in the latter there is even a small exhibition on printed lanes that shows one reason for the decision to accept the tournament. A wood engraving of women playing tennis in 1885, a painting of spa guests playing sports from 1904 and color photos of the Fed Cup tournament of 1973 tell of the longest tennis history in Germany.
In the squares along the pedestrian zone there are three “photo points” where you can stand in a life-size Barbie gift box or have your photo taken with a fixed tennis racket in a dive.
The main thing is that the picture ends up on the Internet quickly.
On this Friday, the green Toto walls are not so easy to see because of the market stalls.
But there is a lot of activity in the pedestrian zone, where you no longer have to wear a mask despite the signs outside.
A bit of advertising for Bad Homburg
The fact that customers are returning is currently the most important news for Eberhard Schmidt-Gronenberg, Chairman of the Bad Homburg Action Group and owner of the Halbach fashion house. "People have some catching up to do." That the tennis tournament has a direct impact on sales is unrealistic, especially this year, he says. "But it is a great image carrier and will make itself felt in the long term." The name Bad Homburg is already constantly falling on the sports channel in which the games are broadcast. "In the wake of the tournament, that ensures good advertising." If it can take place next year without restrictions, everything will look completely different again.
Uwe Eyles also expects that. He is chairman of the Bad Homburg tennis club, which now has a Wimbledon standard grass court. For day-to-day play it is more important to have found a replacement for the sand courts that have been eliminated. Because the contracts of the Bad Homburg Open run for five years. Eyles regrets the restriction on the number of viewers. "But that's better than nothing." In 2022, the tournament will hopefully be able to run at full capacity. "Then there will be a lot more going on outside of the courts."