The draw for the 2026 TERRA WORTMANN OPEN on Saturday afternoon produced a number of exciting matchups. Young player Max Schönhaus (ATP 332) made history in the process. The 18-year-old served as the draw master alongside tennis commentator Matthias Stach and, of all people, drew himself against American Learner Tien (ATP 19). The 19-year-old is one of the greatest talents of his generation and has already established himself in the top 20 of the world rankings.
“He’s about my age, but we’ve never played each other before. We’ll see how it goes,” Schönhaus said with a smile after the draw. Should the young German pull off an upset, he could face second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 4) as early as the second round.
But beyond that, the first round also features several high-profile matchups. Matthias Stach provided additional expertise during the draw. Germany’s most famous tennis commentator, of all people, drew one of the tournament’s most spectacular first-round matchups: Ben Shelton (ATP No. 5) vs. Nick Kyrgios (formerly ATP No. 13). Particular attention is being focused on the matchup between the third-seeded American and the Australian making his return to Halle, who is playing in East Westphalia for the first time in four years. After a five-month break, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist recently made a successful return with a first-round victory in Stuttgart. In Halle, two of the tour’s most spectacular servers and entertainers will face off right at the start of the tournament.
No less intriguing is the matchup between Hubert Hurkacz (ATP 96) and Andrey Rublev (ATP 13). Hurkacz won the 2022 TERRA WORTMANN OPEN, while Rublev reached the final in 2023. Both are among the broader group of title contenders again this year.
Sixth-seeded French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli (ATP 10) also faces a tough challenge. The Italian will open his campaign against two-time US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe (ATP 26).
A rematch of the Paris final could happen in Halle in the final at the earliest. That’s because French Open champion Alexander Zverev (ATP 3) tops the seedings as the number one and is in the other half of the draw.
In his opening match, Zverev will face Czech player Vít Kopřiva (ATP 65). An exciting showdown with Brazilian rising star João Fonseca (ATP 25) could already be in store in the second round. For that to happen, the 19-year-old would need to defeat Yannick Hanfmann (ATP 59) in the first round.
Tournament Director Ralf Weber is particularly looking forward to the French Open champion’s first appearance in Germany: “After his historic victory in Paris, let’s see what he can achieve here. Maybe he’ll even pull off the triple—winning the French Open, the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN, and Wimbledon.”
“We’re looking forward to a top-class tournament week with exciting matches,” added Sven Wortmann, CEO of WORTMANN AG.
The main draw competition begins on Monday. A limited number of tickets for the opening day are still available at the box office. Tickets for all remaining days of the tournament are available on the official TERRA WORTMANN OPEN website.
