The American flag is impossible to miss at the 33rd TERRA WORTMANN OPEN. Five professionals in the main draw hail from the United States – more than from any other nation. And four of them still have hopes of becoming the first American in 31 years to lift the winner’s trophy at the heristo-arena.
The man who helped launch the ATP tennis tournament in Halle/Westphalia was himself an American: In December 1992, Andre Agassi, then the reigning Wimbledon champion, shook hands with Gerhard and Ralf Weber in a Munich hotel to confirm his participation in the inaugural ATP event. Initially, the Webers had offered him a 400,000 Mark appearance fee; the deal was eventually finalised for a further 100,000 Mark. Seven months later, the American was knocked out in the first round by Carl-Uwe Steeb. However, as he was taken with the small town, the surrounding moated castles and the excellent training conditions, he stayed on for the entire tournament week, thus becoming the event’s first – and arguably its most significant – ambassador. In 1995, his compatriot Jimmy Connors caused a sensation when he reached the quarter-finals. From a US perspective, the most successful player was Mardy Fish, who reached the final in 2004 and was only stopped by Roger Federer.
In 2026, the US contingent is stronger than it has been for a long time. TWO tournament director Ralf Weber has managed to bring three players to Halle – Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe – all of whom competed at Queen’s last year. “At Queen’s,” says Taylor Fritz, “the conditions were always a bit tricky for me. I never felt I’d played a really good match there or felt completely at ease. That’s why I thought it was time for something new.”
Now Fritz is back in East Westphalia. On his previous visits in 2016 and 2019, his run ended in the first round on both occasions. Since then, however, the Californian has developed into one of the world’s best grass-court players. With his somewhat hard-fought 7–6 (7), 5–7, 6–4 against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs on Wednesday, he extended his impressive record on grass to 50 wins from 76 matches. “There are many aspects of grass-court tennis that suit me. The most important is probably that my serve really comes into its own on this surface,” says the 28-year-old. With 40 wins, Fritz is actually the player with the most grass-court victories on the ATP Tour this decade. He won the tournament in Stuttgart in 2025 and has even won the Eastbourne tournament four times. He is therefore highly motivated to go far in Halle too: “I think the stadium is brilliant. It’s a classic grass-court tennis stadium.”
Ben Shelton is also in impressive form this year. The left-hander’s serve is reminiscent of that of his compatriot John McEnroe, who stood almost parallel to the baseline before explosively turning his body into the court and forcing his opponent far out of position. Last weekend, Shelton defeated Fritz in the Stuttgart final. Following his tournament victories in Dallas and Munich, the 23-year-old could now become the first player since the introduction of the ATP 500 category in 2009 to win titles on hard court, clay and grass in a single season. Shelton has already made tennis history in 2023: since his victory in Tokyo, he has been one of only four players in the Open Era whose fathers have also won tournaments. His father, Bryan Shelton – once ranked 55th in the world – accompanies his son on the tour as his coach. In Halle, Shelton Junior could now follow in the footsteps of his great idol, Roger Federer, who has won ten times in East Westphalia. After his maiden victory on Wednesday, he said: “I feel incredibly at home in Germany – in Munich, Stuttgart and now in Halle too. It’s a wonderful tournament. I’m surprised that so many people make their way to this little town.”
With Ethan Quinn (ATP 66) and Frances Tiafoe (ATP 26), there are also two other Americans in the competition. When asked why he had chosen to play in the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN this year, Tiafoe replied: “I’m currently at a stage where I’m trying out new things, and I’ve never been here before. Having often been knocked out in the first round at Queen’s, I thought to myself: Why not? Why not try something new for a change?”
Learner Tien (ATP 19) was the only American to be knocked out in the round of 16. The 20-year-old put up a fierce fight against the second seed, Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 4), which he narrowly lost 7–6(5), 5–7, 6–7(5). However, the protégé of coach Michael Chang has long since demonstrated his immense potential by winning his first ATP title in Metz and triumphing at the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Overall, the tournament organisers can be extremely pleased with the performances of the new generation of American players. And perhaps on Sunday, a circle that began more than three decades ago with Andre Agassi will be complete: an American could then lift the Halle trophy for the first time.
