The Tennis Tournament of Rosmalen sees the crowd puller falling away after crowd puller. Yet Monday was the busiest Monday ever on the Libéma Open. That created a lot of atmosphere in the stands and around the jobs, but also for irritation. “It is so busy that I can hardly go anywhere,” says spectator Henk Brands from Eindhoven.
John van Woudenberg and Peter Braaksma from Berkel and Rodenrijs had been a guest at the tennis tournament before, but it was never that busy. “This bustle provides a new experience. Yet we like to be there again. It is a beautiful tournament in a beautiful area,” says Peter.
John adds: “The special thing about this location is that you can easily reach the training courses. Then you can see those top players training with your own eyes and it is visible that they also simply make mistakes. It is also nice that large Dutch talents get the chance. Next year they would be allowed to play on the larger jobs in view of the public interest.”
Fiene, Katinka, Leandra and Boaz come from Winterswijk and had a two -hour drive. “I tennis myself and can learn a lot of these players. How they throw and serve the ball,” says Leandra. The four of them are also on signature hunt. Katinka: “We prefer to do that of Daniil Medvedev, we succeeded. What is striking is that all players and players are very nice.”
The hustle and bustle at Libéma Open has everything to do with Whit Monday. Normally Monday is the least busy day, but now this day is sold out for the first time in the history of the tennis tournament with around 6500 tickets. Ticket sales will also go well in the coming days, although the organization is unlucky with the failure of public pullers. For example, title defender Alex de Minaur reported injured, followed by the Dutch top player Tallon Griekspoor and on Monday Botic van de Zandschulp withdrew at the last minute.
“We have been organizing this tournament for a while, players always drop out. After a heavy clay season and the transition to grass, the chance of injuries is certainly present,” says tournament director Marcel Hunze. “It is a pity that good players lose weight, but we are satisfied with our field of participants. For example, Medvedev takes part in the men and there are several nice names with the ladies.”
In addition to Whit Monday, Hunze has a clear explanation for the increased popularity of the tournament. “It is one of the few tournaments in the world where the men and women come into action. In the Netherlands it is even the only ladies tournament. Libéma Open has become a tradition and is more than just top tennis on many jobs. There is a nice promotion village and there are all kinds of activities. We hear that it is a fun tournament for young and old.”
What Hunze does not control is the weather. After a lot of rain during the qualifications last weekend to summer temperatures of almost 30 degrees at the end of this week. “But we have experience with hot days during the tournament. I’d rather have warmth than rain. We provide various cooling options for players and spectators.”
Read also
