Linz Open 2024 Preview: When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?
As the Australian Open draws to a close, attention is turning to next week when tennis continues for the 37th edition of the prestigious Linz Open.
And we, at Tennishead, have got everything you need to know about the newly upgraded WTA 500 tournament:
When is the 2024 Linz Open?
The Linz Open’s main draw will kick-off on Monday 29th January, concluding on Sunday 4th February with the singles and doubles finals.
Play on most days will begin at 12pm local time (11am GMT), with the evening session starting at 6:30pm local time (5:30pm GMT).
Qualifying for the main draw takes place between Sunday 28th January and Monday 29th January.
The upgraded 𝓤𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓐𝓾𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓪 𝓛𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓛𝓲𝓷𝔃 is just a fortnight way!🇦🇹🍿
Make sure to get your tickets now! 🎫 → https://t.co/gqZDT7zjZw
And in the meantime let’s all enjoy the #Ausopen! 🇦🇺 🦘 @WTA | #WTALinz #WTA500 pic.twitter.com/mn7qfBGQdk
— #WTALinz (@WTALinz) January 14, 2024
Where is the 2024 Linz Open held?
The Linz Open is hosted at the TipsArena in northern Austria, which is an indoor sports venue that was opened in 1974.
A total of 6,000 spectators can pile into the arena to watch the best of the action at the WTA 500 tournament.
Who is playing at the 2024 Linz Open?
The 2024 tournament is headlined by top seeds Jelena Ostapenko, who was awarded a late wildcard, and 2018 runner-up Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Also returning to Linz is 2013 champion Angelique Kerber, who received a wildcard, as the former No.1 looks to continue her return to the matchcourt after giving birth to her first child.
Angie Alert‼️🇩🇪
Three-time grand slam winner @AngeliqueKerber receives a WC and returns to Linz!
We can’t wait to welcome our 2013 champion back in Upper Austria!@WTA | #WTALinz #UpperAustria pic.twitter.com/5GfEhCxzBy
— #WTALinz (@WTALinz) January 24, 2024
Anastasia Potapova is the other former champion in the draw, with the Russian looking to defend her title from last year.
Alongside Kerber and Ostapenko, other singles wildcards have been offered to home player Sinja Kraus and breakthrough Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska.
How many ranking points are on offer at the 2024 Linz Open?
With the Linz Open being upgraded to a WTA 500 tournament for 2024, players will have greater motivation to pick up precious ranking points following the first major of the year.
Here is the full breakdown of the points on offer next week:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Q | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | 500 | 325 | 195 | 108 | 60 | 1 | 25 | 13 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubles | 1 | — | — | — | — |
What is the prize money for the 2024 Linz Open?
There is a total prize pot of $922,573 in Linz next week, and here is how that money will be shared out:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | $142,000 | $87,655 | $51,205 | $24,200 | $13,170 | $8,860 | $6,603 | $3,380 |
| Doubles * | $47,390 | $28,720 | $16,430 | $8,510 | $5,140 | — | — | — |
*Per team
Previous winners of the Linz Open
The Linz Open has produced some very impressive champions from over the years, with Grand Slam champions including Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka all winning the singles tournament.
Last year was the turn of Anastasia Potapova, who beat Petra Martic in the final to win her second WTA title.
Here are the past 10 singles and doubles champions from the tournament:
| Year | Singles Champion | Doubles Champions |
| 2013 | Angelique Kerber | Karolina Pliskova & Kristyna Pliskova |
| 2014 | Karolina Pliskova | Raluca Olaru & Anna Tatishvili |
| 2015 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears |
| 2016 | Dominika Cibulkova | Kiki Bertens & Johanna Larsson |
| 2017 | Barbora Strycova | Kiki Bertens (2) & Johanna Larsson (2) |
| 2018 | Camila Giorgi | Kirsten Flipkens & Johanna Larsson (3) |
| 2019 | Coco Gauff | Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova |
| 2020 | Aryna Sabalenka | Arantxa Rus & Tamara Zidansek |
| 2021 | Alison Riske | Natela Dzalamidze & Kamilla Rakhimova |
| 2022 | Not held | Not held |
| 2023 | Anastasia Potapova | Natela Dzalamidze (2) & Viktoria Hruncakova |
How can you watch the 2024 Linz Open?
You can watch the Linz Open on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis Channel in the United States of America.
For more information on how to watch the illustrious tournament in your location, visit the WTA website here.
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