Solemn review: 50 years first bank open in Vienna
Solemn review: 50 years first bank open in Vienna
The Erste Bank Open, an indispensable part of the Austrian sports calendar, celebrates an important anniversary this year - 50 years! In fact, the tournament, which has now developed into favorites among sports enthusiasts, is organized in the Vienna Stadthalle. From October 19th to 27th, visitors can see international tennis greats such as Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz live.
The history of the tournament goes back to 1974 when it took place for the first time on the international tennis parquet. Over the years, the competition has developed from the lowest category to the impressive ATP Tour-500. This makes it one of the most renowned tournaments in Austria, next to that in Kitzbühel.
economic importance and high prize money
With a total prize money of around 2.5 million euros, the tournament not only attracts viewers, but also first -class players. This sum is in stark contrast to the modest $ 25,000, which were paid out at the beginning of the tournament. Sponsors have changed over the years, starting with Fischer to Creditanstalt before the first bank took over the name Rights and now represents the tournament since 2011.Although there was a time when the Erste Bank Open was downgraded to the lower category ATP-250, the tournament has been part of the ATP tour 500 again since 2015 and is therefore part of the upper league of professional tennis.
big names in the winner list
The list of the former champions includes some of the biggest names of tennis, including Stan Smith, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and many more. There were also four Austrian winners who won the tournament. Horst Skoff was the first to triumph in 1988. The next Austrian successes only came 21 years later with Jürgen Melzer, who won the tournament in 2009 and 2010. The last Austrian victory comes from Dominic Thiem, who brought the trophy home in 2019.
The tournament not only attracts national talents, but also many young players from all over the world. The possibility of being able to compete against world stars is great motivation for many athletes, and the audience in Vienna is enthusiastic about every game round. Details on the upcoming encounters and further information about the tournament can be found in a detailed report on www.meinbezirk.at .
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