- Ben Shelton, finalist from 2025, has big plans
- Fun and games at the MultiBall
- Comprehensive live coverage on Joyn, ProSieben Maxx, Sky and Eurosport
- Last tickets available for the first days of the tournament
Munich. Led by defending champion Alexander Zverev, a total of seven German players will start the BMW Open by Bitpanda 2026. Of the German players who qualified, Diego Dedura made it into the main draw. The 18-year-old prevailed in three sets (6:7, 6:3, 6:3) against Sumit Nagal from India. And Marko Topo was also able to celebrate, as he slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser for the injured Marton Fucsovics from Hungary (right shoulder).
Zverev now plays Miomir Kecmanovic from Serbia in the first round and has his sights set high after his semi-final exit in Monte Carlo. He has his sights set on defending his title at the BMW Open by Bitpanda and would like to become the sole record winner. That would require his fourth title in Munich. However, the opening match against the world number 59 will probably not be a walkover, Kecmanovic is an unpleasant opponent who has already beaten Zverev in Acapulco this year.
Jan-Lennard Struff also has a really tough task on his hands as he has to play the Argentinian clay court specialist Francisco Cerundolo. And that brings back memories - Struff clearly lost to Cerundolo last year in Munich as the defending champion in the first round (0:2, 2:6). But "Struffi" doesn't want to see this as a bad omen: "It's always a good feeling to play in a tournament where things have gone so well in the past," he said at the opening press conference. The winner of the BMW Open by Bitpanda 2024 loves the family atmosphere and the proximity to the fans in Munich. Perhaps these things can inspire him again this time.
In addition to Struff and Zverev, Daniel Altmaier, Yannick Hanfmann, Justin Engel, Diego Dedura and Marko Topo will play in the main draw of the BMW Open by Bitpanda. Daniel Altmaier will face former champion Maric Cilic from Croatia, Yannick Hanfmann will take on Alexander Blockx from Belgium and Justin Engel, who was given a wild card by tournament director Patrik Kühnen, will play Vit Kopriva from the Czech Republic. Diego Dedura will now face Flavio Cobolli from Italy and Marko Topo will play Zizou Bergs from Belgium.
The tournament's number two, Ben Shelton from the USA, has also set his sights high. He made it all the way to the final at his debut in Munich last year and is definitely thinking about going one step further now: "Overall, I'm a better player than I was last year," said Shelton during a relaxed press conference, "I've become more complete and come with a lot of confidence." He enjoys being in the city, Shelton continued, and already has an appointment in mind on Wednesday: "I was in the stadium at Bayern Munich last year and it would be great if I could go again. I really enjoyed that."
The pros have already tested it and found it to be good: MultiBall, the interactive system for the tennis club - for sport, entertainment, education and events. At the weekend, the sports wall was set up for fans on Odeonsplatz in Munich's historic city centre. The two ATP players Yannick Hanfmann and Francisco Cerúndolo also stopped by and played a few practice matches - a great warm-up for their opening matches. They were also able to take a look at the BMW winning car - the new all-electric BMW iX3 - which was also on display.
Last tickets available for the first days of the tournament
World-class tennis awaits visitors from the first round onwards. All players will start their first matches on Monday or Tuesday. Last tickets are still available for Monday to Wednesday at www.bmwopen.de/en.
Stream all matches for free on Joyn
Once again, all matches from centre court can be followed live and free of charge via the streaming app Joyn. Supplemented by highlights, behind-the-scenes and news coverage, viewers will not miss a second of the BMW Open by Bitpanda 2026 there and on ran.de. Both singles semi-finals on Saturday and the singles final on Sunday will also be broadcast live on ProSieben Maxx. As usual, Sky will broadcast all matches on pay TV, while Eurosport will show the first match of the day live from Monday to Friday.
