The 2016 Nuremberg Cup tournament is one of the two main WTA Tour events played the week before the French Open. It marks a last occasion for players to duck in some matches and experience real-world pressure situations before they go to Roland Garros for the most significant clay tennis tournament of the whole year. Some players might be looking ahead to it but one thing to note about this tournament is that players can’t benefit in terms of seeding for Roland Garros. Those seeds are set on Monday, May 16, and the competition in this 32-player main draw will begin on Sunday, May 15.
Event Details
Event: Nuremberg Cup
Category: WTA International Level
Date: May 15 – 21, 2016
Location: Tennisclub 1 FC Nuremberg – Nuremberg, Germany
With a prize money allotment of $250,000, this tournament won’t create a lot of buzz or bring a huge draw loaded with big-name players. This remains a tournament the week before the French Open, so most of the top players in the sport will be resting and preparing for the main event. In addition to that detail, this tournament is played outside France, in Germany. If anything, the Strasbourg tour stop played in France is a more convenient tour stop the week before the French Open for any player seeking to get more match play in before the year’s clay-court Grand Slam festival.
The points structure under the WTA system is that for the women, the championship at an International level tour event means 280 points. A runner-up finish is worth 180. A semifinal result is 110 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 60 points. Round-of-16 results will give 30 points.
Former Champions and Results (3 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Karin Knapp def. Roberta Vinci – 7-6, 4-6, 6-1
2014 – Eugenie Bouchard def. Karolina Pliskova – 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
2013 – Simona Halep def. Andrea Petkovic – 6-3, 6-3
Player Info:
The top seed is Angelique Kerber, which is a surprise on a larger level, given that she’s the No. 2 player in the world. However, the move is not a shock in that Kerber lost her first match this past week in Rome. She is rusty, so it makes sense for her to play this event and stay active heading into Roland Garros. Also, it’s worth mentioning that she’s a German player, so it’s not that huge of a surprise to see her here. She’ll get to play in front of the home audience, which is going to make her one of the clear-cut favorites to win the event. She needed a place to come and boost her confidence before the second Grandslam of the year and this tournament should offer that.
Aside from that, we’ll also see Roberta Vinci, who is also ranked in the top 10. She’ll be the No. 2 seed here. She also lost early in Rome, so it is similarly sensible for her to play in Germany before heading to the French Open. She’ll find it a little more challenging to rebuild her confidence here, though.
The next six top seeds, in order, are Madison Keys, Laura Siegemund, Annika Beck, Lesia Tsurenko, Sabine Lisicki, and Misaki Doi. However, Keys and Doi made deep runs in Rome, so if they withdrew before this tournament started, you should not be surprised to find that out. Keep an eye on Lisicki, who is also going to be cheered heavily by the hometown crowd because she’s from Germany too. Pre-tournament pullouts include Mona Barthel and Karin Knapp. It’s not exactly a big loss to the field as those two players were not considered serious threats to win the event.
Tennisclub 1 FC Nuremberg
The tennis club o Nuremberg was established relatively recently, in 1995. This tournament began only three years ago, in 2013, so it’s a fairly new piece on the WTA Tour calendar. There are 12 courts at the tennis club of Nuremberg, providing enough real estate for this 32-player event.
In terms of capacity, the main court at Valznerweiher can hold up to 2500 attendees for a match. The Centre Court has a capacity slightly smaller at 2200. Lastly, there is Court I, which can hold up to 400 spectators and Court II, which can hold about 200.
