10 Things to Know About the 2026 Bad Homburg Open

The Bad Homburg Open is back for its sixth edition this week, serving as the final major grass-court tune-up before Wimbledon. Here are 10 things to know about this year’s tournament.

1. It’s the Final Wimbledon Warm-Up Event

The Bad Homburg Open is due to take place between June 21-27 in Germany and is the final grass court warm-up before Wimbledon. The tournament has positioned itself as a key stop for top players looking to sharpen their grass-court form before the year’s third major championship.

2. It Carries WTA 500 Status

The 2026 Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt is a women’s professional tennis tournament to be played on outdoor grass courts at the TC Bad Homburg in Bad Homburg, Germany, from 22 to 28 June 2026. It will be the sixth edition of the Bad Homburg Open and is classified as a WTA 500 event on the 2026 WTA Tour. The Bad Homburg Open has been a WTA 500 event since 2024, having launched as a smaller WTA 250-level tournament in 2021.

3. It Features an Elite Field

This year’s tournament has drawn several of the sport’s biggest names. It sees an elite field with Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina, and Karolina Muchova involved. Rybakina is set for her debut alongside Muchova.

4. The Defending Champion Is Skipping It

Jessica Pegula was the reigning champion, but did not participate this year. Her absence opens the door for a new champion to emerge from this year’s deep field.

5. Several Top-20 Players Are Also Competing

Beyond the headline names, the draw includes a broad swath of the WTA’s upper rankings. Linda Noskova, Naomi Osaka, 2024 champion Diana Shnaider, Iva Jovic, and Ekaterina Alexandrova are among the top 20 players in the fold.

6. The Tournament Has a History of Dramatic Finals

Bad Homburg has built a reputation for producing closely contested championship matches since its inception. The town known for champagne air and tradition is adding exciting women’s tennis to its list of attractions, with three of the first four finals all ending in a tiebreak or a deciding third set.

7. The Draw Features 32 Singles Players and 16 Doubles Teams

The tournament’s full competitive field spans both singles and doubles competition. 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams show up to TC Bad Homburg ready to rally on outdoor grass courts.

8. The Top Four Seeds Received First-Round Byes

As is standard for WTA 500 events of this size, the tournament’s highest-ranked competitors were given an advantage entering the main draw. The top four seeds received a bye into the second round, allowing the tournament’s biggest stars to bypass the opening round entirely before the bracket narrows.

9. The Opening Round Produced a Tournament-Record Match

This year’s edition has already delivered a notable piece of tournament history in its earliest stage. At three hours and 12 minutes, the first round match between Leylah Fernandez and Katie Boulter was the longest match in tournament history.

10. The Event Coincides With a Wider Controversy in Women’s Tennis

The tournament’s broader backdrop has been shaped by significant news affecting the sport this week. Marketa Vondrousova was suspended from tennis for four years for refusing an anti-doping test, a development that has generated substantial discussion within tennis circles and added an unusual layer of controversy to a week otherwise focused on Wimbledon preparation.

Where the Tournament Goes From Here

With the tournament currently in its round-of-32 and round-of-16 stages as of this week, the field continues narrowing toward the final, which will close out the event on June 27 or 28. Several seeded players, including top seed Iga Swiatek, No. 2 seed Mirra Andreeva, No. 3 seed Elina Svitolina, and No. 4 seed Karolina Muchova, remained active in the draw as of the tournament’s most recent updates, while seventh seed Diana Shnaider, the 2024 champion, had already been eliminated.

With the Bad Homburg Open running through June 27-28 and Wimbledon set to follow shortly after, this week’s results will offer one of the clearest indicators of grass-court form heading into the year’s third Grand Slam. Given the strength of this year’s field — featuring Swiatek, Rybakina, Andreeva, Svitolina, and Muchova all competing in the same draw — the eventual Bad Homburg champion will enter Wimbledon with valuable momentum on a surface that continues to favor a select group of the sport’s most adaptable players.