Held at the end of July, the Austrian Open represents the final opportunity for the clay-court lovers to pick up ranking points before the tour moves exclusively to the States. As such, it’s not surprising that the tournament has been dominated by South American players who won the title every single year from 2003-2008.

 

The Austrian Open first started back in 1945 but Kitzbuhel’s tennis history goes back much further than that. English visitors brought the so-called elite game to the small Alpine town as early as the 19th century and for well over half a century the tournament has retained its place on the ATP Tour.

 

The event enjoyed its golden era in the early ‘90s when the likes of Thomas Muster and even Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic (neither being renowned for their clay-court abilities) won the title. However it suffered a bit of a scare in 2010 when it was briefly downgraded to challenger level status before being restored as a main tour event the following year.

 

The importance of the Austrian Open to the region was emphasized by the local tourism director Peter Marko who said "It's very important that the tradition of tennis in Kitzbühel is carried on. These competitions have been held for 68 years, and that's unique in the Alpine region.”

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