Saarland celebrates beach tennis with international stars and national champions 

Paris is not the only home of world-class sport – Saarlouis is showcasing it too, as impressively demonstrated by the 7th Beach Tennis Open from 12 to 18 August 2024. For the seventh time, the top beach tennis players from Germany and across the globe came to Saarland to fight for championship titles, world ranking points and prize money. This sporting highlight on the market square had everything: team spirit, thrilling duels in the sand, and a magnificent atmosphere at the heart of the city.  

The combination of an international world ranking tournament and the German championships is what makes this event so special – and unique worldwide. The ITF Sand Series Saarlouis Classic, one of the biggest beach tennis tournaments with $50,000 in prize money, saw two exciting finals won by world champions Nicolas Gianotti (France) and Mattia Spoto (Italy) and by the two Brazilian players Sophia Chow and Vitoria Marchezini. In the German championships, gold medals were secured by Benjamin Ringlstetter (Bayerischer Tennis Verband) and Alexander Bailer (Württembergischer Tennis Bund) as well as Sophie Schmidt (Badischer Tennisverband) and Charlize Hummel (Württembergischer Tennis Bund). The mixed competition was won by Margarete Pelster and Benjamin Ringlstetter (both Bayerischer Tennis Verband). ‘The Beach Tennis Open Saarlouis is a flagship beach tennis event for the German Tennis Federation (DTB). The combination of German championships and the ITF Sand Series tournament is unique’, the DTB’s vice-president Jan Hanelt said.  

Beach tennis is a team sport, and the Beach Tennis Open Saarlouis similarly could only be made possible by a team. Collaborations between the town of Saarlouis, Saarland, the DTB and PLAN B Sport Marketing paid off. The event was launched in 2017 on the smaller square, but outgrew it last year and moved to the town’s larger square. This year it took the next step and has become even bigger with a total of 414 participants, attracting even more spectators. The inclusion day was another highlight, focusing on watching and taking part. People with disabilities had an opportunity to experience the fascinating sport that is beach tennis. They also watched top-class matches on the nine sand courts thanks to countless players from all over the world. ‘The Beach Tennis Open Saarlouis is a unique highlight in our sporting calendar that impressively showcases the public’s enthusiasm for this dynamic sport. The exceptional quality of the tournament, particularly the inclusion day, shows how sport can bring people together in many different ways. We are hugely grateful to the town of Saarlouis for their exceptional collaborations to make this event possible’, said Reinhold Jost, Saarland’s Minister of the Interior, Construction and Sport, who could continually be seen at the Saarlouis square to watch proceedings as the event’s patron.  

The women’s final of the ITF tournament had a somewhat surprising lineup: world champions and world number ones Patricia Diaz (Venezuela) and Rafaella Miiller (Brazil) lost in the quarter-final to Veronica Casadei (Italy) and Ariadna Costa Graell (Spain), who managed to battle their way through to the final. However, they then lost 6:7 and 2:6, and had to congratulate Sophia Chow and Vitoria Marchezini on their tournament victory. From the first round onwards, the matches at the 7th Beach Tennis Open Saarlouis were top class, with the men’s event also throwing up some surprises. The two young Brazilians Giovanni Cariani and Daniel Mola reaching the final was certainly one of these: they put up a strong fight against world champions Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto, gaining a match point and ultimately only losing with a very tight score of 7:5, 5:7 and 10:12.  

2024 German Championships 

Saarland is Germany’s top location for beach tennis, and the country’s top players regularly meet here to crown their champion. The event was very popular once again this year, with competitors battling for medals across eight competitions. In the men’s event, defending champions Alexander Bailer and Benjamin Ringlstetter managed to prevail, beating Hauke Große-Holthaus and Oliver Wagner (both Westfälischer Tennis Verband) 6:2 and 7:6 in the final. This was Benjamin Ringlstetter’s 16th national title, making him Germany’s most successful athlete by far. For the women, 20-year-old Charlize Hummel (Württembergischer Tennis Bund) secured her first title; playing alongside Sophie Schmidt, already a two-time German champion with Deborah Döring, she won the final against Sarah Bolsmann and Christin Nimtz (both Tennisverband Niedersachsen-Bremen) 6:2, 2:6 and 11:9. The losing team had previously beaten Sarah-Kristin Fricke (Bayerischer Tennis-Verband) and Cristina Schaale (Tennis-Verband Berlin-Brandenburg) in the semi-final with a close score of 6:1, 5:7 and 10:8. In the mixed competition, the duo of Margarete Pelster and Benjamin Ringlstetter managed to defend their 2023 title. In the final, the two national players beat Charlize Hummel and Oliver Schleich (Saarländischer Tennisbund) 6:1 and 6:4.  

Carsten Quirin, the mayor of the town of Saarlouis, offered a short, pithy summary of the 7th Beach Tennis Open Saarlouis: ‘Saarlouis enjoyed some fantastic days of sport. The Beach Tennis Open is part of Saarlouis, and Saarlouis is beach tennis!’ The event organisers and participants are already looking forward to the eighth event in the summer of 2025.  

Results – German Championships