Tennis professional Tim Pütz surprisingly won the mixed title at the French Open alongside Miyu Kato, making it only the third German success at the classic clay court in Paris.
The Frankfurt tennis pro Tim Pütz has the French Open won his first Grand Slam title in Paris in mixed. The 35-year-old Davis Cup player defeated Miyu Kato from Japan in the final on Thursday (June 8th, 2023). MichaelVenus/Bianca Andreescu (New Zealand/Canada) 4: 6, 6: 4 and 10: 6 im Match tiebreak through.
The duo had only shortly before the start of the tournament in Roland Garros got together. Pütz is the third German mixed champion in Paris. In 1930 Cilly Aussem triumphed with the American Bill Tilden, in 2014 Anna-Lena Grönefeld caught up Jean Julien Rojer from the Netherlands took the title. Before Pütz, however, only one male German tennis player had won a major mixed title: in 1933 Gottfried von Cramm triumphed in Wimbledon with Hilde Krahwinkel.
Pütz and Kato – a spontaneous Paris fairy tale
Pütz and Kato had at the beginning of the French Open Found each other more by chance: When registering, both Pütz and Kato with their originally intended partners did not have the necessary ranking list points, so they spontaneously decided to take part together. Despite some communication difficulties, things apparently worked out with Kato right away, although the 28-year-old Japanese speaks little English, as Pütz revealed: “Well, in a week and a half we haven’t discussed anything like position play or running paths.”
During the tournament, both also had to survive the difficult emotional phase. Kato was disqualified in women’s doubles after hitting a ball girl with what appeared to be more of an accidental light punch. The organizers took her points and prize money, Boris Becker called the decision “exaggerated”, but it stuck.
A lot of emotions at Pütz and Kato after the mixed title on the chatrier
“Miyu, it’s unbelievable what has happened in the last ten days. I hope this helps you“, said Pütz after winning the title in an interview on the Court Philippe-Chatrier to his playing partner. ““I’m very happy that we won. But even happier that we did it after all the drama. I hope this makes up for what happened to you.”
Kato had been emotionally distressed for several days after her disqualification and fought back tears at the award ceremony on Thursday. She read her speech from a sheet of paper. “It was mentally very challenging for me. I’m so happy that you always supported and encouraged me,” she said to Pütz.
Mixed only in Grand Slam tournaments
Pütz/Kato received 122,000 euros in prize money for the win, and in doubles Pütz also earned 40,000 euros after reaching the quarter-finals with Kevin Krawietz. In professional tennis, mixed is only played at the four Grand Slam tournaments and at the Olympic Games.