The idea is simple, the project well thought out: if Wimbledon has the status of a dream location for many tennis professionals, then the new ladies' tournament in Bad Homburg should at least be something like the inevitable overture on the way there.
A prelude to your schedule before you hit the “sacred lawn” at the most prestigious tournament of the year.
It is also in Bad Homburg, where the first day of the new WTA competition took place on Sunday.
The seeds are the same as at Wimbledon because the category 250 tournament is heavily supported and licensed by the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
But the trappings are a few sizes smaller than their big brother, the Grand Slam tournament in London.
For the tournament ambassador Angelique Kerber, the Bad Homburg Open is a “boutique tournament” that has its “very own charm”.
That hits it.
And the club house of the TC Bad Homburg is almost symbolic of this.
It fits in picturesquely between Center Court and the trees of the Kurpark and gives the tournament something of the elitist spirit that is omnipresent at Wimbledon.
Enjoyment of the guest performance of the world's elite
This is probably one of the reasons why the players and their entourage feel at home in the Hessian spa town.
What better way to prepare for the high point of the year than with some kind of miniature version of the big tournament?
Not only the German players enjoy Bad Homburg.
Otherwise, there were almost exclusively positive things to be heard about the start of the tournament.
Simona Halep, for example, who was supposed to serve as one of five Grand Slam tournament winners in the Kurpark, had to cancel her participation at short notice due to a calf injury and took this opportunity to praise the tournament in the highest tones: “I am very disappointed and sad about not being able to be there.
It's really beautiful here, the conditions are excellent. "
The 600 (instead of the originally hoped for 3500) spectators on the first day of the tournament enjoyed the guest performance of the world's elite.
And here, too, the elitist yet familiar atmosphere plays a role.
It allows for intimate moments, for example when paths suddenly cross with Laura Siegemund while strolling in the spa gardens.
At least at first glance, the premiere was a success one year after the corona-related cancellation.
But it should only be the beginning of a project that goes beyond the duration of the license, which is initially granted for five years.
The chances of this are good because the organizers' plan to transport the Wimbledon flair to the facility in Bad Homburg's spa gardens has worked.
It starts with the logo, which is similar to that of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and continues across the lawn with its striped pattern based on the tournament in London to the small but important details: What should not be missing at Wimbledon? Right: strawberries with whipped cream. And of course there are also those in Bad Homburg.