The 25th edition of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open ended on Sunday 19 September with Danish player Clara Tauson's victory in the final (6-3, 4-6, 4-6). She won against title holder Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia under the eyes of prime minister Xavier Bettel (DP), but also ministers Corinne Cahen (DP) and François Bausch (Déi Gréng), and the president of the Luxembourg tennis federation (and secretary general of the DP) Claude Lamberty.
A relative unknown, Tauson is part of the same generation as Britain's Emma Raducanu and Canada's Leylah Fernandez, respectively winner and runner-up at the US Open a little over a week ago. Tauson, who has been heralded as a prodigy for years, continues her rise. She will be ranked 52nd in the world this Monday, at the age of 18.
Differences with the WTA
But the big news in Kockelscheuer on Sunday was the announcement made by tournament director Danielle Maas in a press conference on behalf of the organisers. She explained that this edition would be the last as a WTA (Women's Tennis Association) tournament, i.e. on the professional women's circuit.
It’s “a final decision," she explained. "There have been endless discussions with the WTA over the last few weeks. The views did not match anymore. In this way, we can no longer be true to our concept." A concept that remains that of a family tournament that is above all a celebration for the public, the players and the organisers. This seems impossible, given the protocols imposed by the WTA.
Return to the roots
Later in the evening, the tournament's Twitter account indicated that the tournament's organising association, the IWTP (International Women's Tennis Promotion), will organise an exhibition tournament from next year onwards, "as it started 30 years ago.”
Indeed, before becoming a WTA tournament (from 1996), the Luxembourg Open was first an exhibition tournament for five years (from 1991 to 1995), having hosted some legends such as Martina Navrátilová, Jana Novotná, Arantxa Sánchez, or Mary Pierce.
This story was first published on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.