Bundesliga star joins Rybakina in tennis event after Alcaraz success | Tennis | Sport

Bundesliga goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow will join Elena Rybakina and Laura Siegemund in taking part in the Stuttgart Open’s new ‘One Point Challenge’ next month. It follows on from the success of the Australian Open’s One Point Slam earlier this year, which saw the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner compete against amateurs for a £753,000 ($1 million) prize.

Amateur Jordan Smith ultimately won that event, and now the Stuttgart Open is set to follow suit by launching their own version of the tournament. While a number of tennis stars, including Rybakina and Siegemund, have signed up for the phenomenon, VfB Stuttgart shot-stopper Bredlow has also tossed his name in the hat. The 31-year-old, who broke through the RB Leipzig academy in 2014, will swap the pitch for the court on April 13 as a result – the same day that the draw for the main tournament takes place.

Having previously lifted the title in 2024 thanks to her 6-2 6-2 win over Marta Kostyuk in the final, Rybakina will be vying for glory once more in Germany in the coming months. However, the 26-year-old saw her hopes of clinching the Miami Open come crashing down on Friday, courtesy of a 6-4 6-3 loss at the hands of long-time rival, Aryna Sabalenka.

It comes after the Kazakhstani superstar admitted earlier in the tournament that she had a bit of an “attitude” issue during her three-set comeback win over Jessica Pegula on Wednesday. Rybakina was 6-2 down in the first set when she staged a remarkable 6-3 6-4 turnaround in the final two to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

She told the Tennis Channel after the match: “Today, I didn’t start the best. Honestly, I was frustrated with all my mistakes.

“I was rushing, and it was just going, and I couldn’t stop my, let’s say, attitude. I’m just happy that in the second set, I went to take a break, breathe a little bit, and managed to turn it around. There are some positive things, but also some things to not have the same mistakes, I would say.”

As a result of her win, Sabalenka will now take on Coco Gauff in Saturday’s final of the Miami Open. In the men’s game, meanwhile, Jiri Lahecka and Arthur Fils, as well as Alexander Zverev and Sinner go head-to-head for their places in Sunday’s final of the competition.