ATP Fantasy Tools

The Hamburg Open, officially known in 2026 as the Bitpanda Hamburg Open, is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Hamburg, Germany. It is played on outdoor clay courts at the Am Rothenbaum Tennis Center, and from 2025 has moved back to its traditional springtime spot on the calendar, held in the second half of May as a key lead-in to Roland Garros.

Tournament Schedule

Qualifying: Saturday, 16 May at 11 a.m. CEST and Sunday, 17 May at 11:30 a.m. CEST.
Main Draw: Sunday, 17 May to Saturday, 23 May.
Doubles Final: Saturday, 23 May at 11:30 a.m.
Singles Final: Saturday, 23 May, not before 2:30 p.m.

Prize Money and Ranking Points

Total Prize Money: € 2,219,670

Round	Prize Money	Ranking Points
Winner	€ 415,140	500
Finalist	€ 223,350	330
Semi-finalist	€ 119,030	200
Quarter-finalist	€ 60,810	100
Round of 16	€ 32,460	50
Round of 32	€ 17,310	0

History

The Hamburg Open is one of the oldest and most prestigious clay-court tournaments in the world, first held in 1892 as the International German Championships. Now in its 120th edition for the men, it is the fifth-oldest tennis tournament in existence and has called the iconic Am Rothenbaum in the Harvestehude quarter home since 1924. The tournament held ATP Masters Series status from 1990 to 2008 before being downgraded to an ATP 500 event in 2009, when it also moved from May to July. From 2025, the men's event returned to its traditional May slot on the calendar, slotting in immediately after Rome as the final ATP-level clay tune-up before Roland Garros. Roger Federer leads the modern era with a record four singles titles (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007), while Spanish-Cuban Andres Gimeno (1971) and Italian rising star Flavio Cobolli (2025) are the oldest and most recent champions respectively. The 2026 edition marks the first time the tournament will be played as the Bitpanda Hamburg Open in its traditional springtime window.

Tournament Data

Hamburg is played essentially at sea level (approximately 6 metres, or 20 feet, above sea level), with the famous heavy, traditionally slow red clay of Northern Europe. The Am Rothenbaum's Center Court is also equipped with a retractable roof, which is a meaningful asset given Hamburg's notoriously unpredictable spring weather.

These are the stats from recent years (2024 shown for reference, with consistent trends over the last five years):

Approximately 7.0 to 7.5% Aces per service game (lower than Madrid's ~8.5%, slightly higher than Rome's ~5.5%)
Surface Speed Rating: 0.89 (Tennis Abstract, 2024), noticeably slower than the tour average, though faster than Rome (0.70) and Roland Garros (0.67) in their warm summer or spring conditions
Important caveat for 2026: with the event moving back to mid-May, expect cooler temperatures and damper, heavier conditions than in recent July editions. This should slow the courts further and push play closer to true Rome-style heavy clay.
Longer average rallies, fewer free points on serve, and a higher premium on patience and clay-court craft than at the high-altitude Madrid swing

Tournament Past Winners

Year	Winner	Runner Up	Semi-finalist 1	Semi-finalist 2
2025	Flavio Cobolli	Andrey Rublev	Felix Auger-Aliassime	Tomas Martin Etcheverry
2024	Arthur Fils	Alexander Zverev	Sebastian Baez	Pedro Martinez
2023	Alexander Zverev	Laslo Djere	Arthur Fils	Zhang Zhizhen
2022	Lorenzo Musetti	Carlos Alcaraz	Alex Molcan	Francisco Cerundolo
2021	Pablo Carreno Busta	Filip Krajinovic	Federico Delbonis	Laslo Djere

Weather

This fortnight in Hamburg, conditions look classically variable for late spring in northern Germany. Daytime temperatures will range between 14 and 18°C (57 to 64°F), with cool mornings and evenings around 7 to 10°C (45 to 50°F). Humidity will sit between 65 and 80%. Winds will be light to moderate, around 10 to 20 km/h (6 to 12 mph). The forecast suggests a mix of cloudy spells and frequent scattered rain showers throughout the week, particularly in the opening days. Rain is a realistic and recurring possibility in Hamburg in May. The good news is that the Centre Court at Am Rothenbaum has a retractable roof that allows headline matches to continue uninterrupted.

Key 2026 News and Storylines

Major Withdrawals (Big Names Skipping or Missing)

Carlos Alcaraz (World No. 2, Spain) - OUT with the same right wrist injury that ruled him out of Barcelona, Madrid and Rome. The Spaniard has confirmed he will skip the rest of the European clay swing, including Roland Garros, putting long-term health first. A huge absence on top of his Rome no-show.
Jannik Sinner (World No. 1, Italy) - NOT IN THE FIELD. The Italian, fresh off his Madrid title and chasing history at Rome, has chosen not to enter Hamburg in 2026 and will head straight to Roland Garros. After making his Hamburg debut in 2025, Sinner is opting for a lighter schedule into Paris this time around.
Novak Djokovic (World No. 4) - NOT IN THE FIELD. The Serb has confirmed he will not play another clay event between Rome and Roland Garros, sticking with the limited pre-slam preparation that worked for him at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Jack Draper (World No. 28) - OUT. The Brit was on the initial Hamburg entry list but withdrew due to the right knee tendon injury that has kept him out since Barcelona. Sebastian Korda has taken his place in the main draw.
Holger Rune (World No. 39) - OUT. Despite earlier suggestions Hamburg would mark his return from the Achilles tendon injury he picked up last October, Rune has now pulled out. Tomas Machac replaces him in the draw.
Other notable ATP absences: Andrey Rublev (last year's finalist, not in the field), Tomas Martin Etcheverry (defending semi-finalist not entered), Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud.

Key Players In (or Status to Watch)

Alexander Zverev (World No. 3, Germany, top seed) - IN and the clear home favourite. The Hamburg native arrives boasting an 80% win rate on clay this season, fresh off his run to the Madrid final and Rome, where he was looking to bounce back from the loss to Sinner. Zverev has won Hamburg before (2017, 2023) and been runner-up twice (2018, 2024). He has played four Hamburg finals in total and knows these courts as well as anyone in the field. Monday, 18 May has been dedicated as German Tennis Day, and his opening match is expected to draw a packed black-red-gold crowd.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (World No. 5) - IN and seeded second. The Canadian reached the semi-finals here last year and arrives in solid form. His explosive game can work even on slower clay if he serves well and dictates from the baseline.
Ben Shelton (World No. 6) - IN and arguably the most in-form player in the field. The American sensation arrives with massive momentum after capturing the ATP 500 title in Munich just weeks ago, beating defending Hamburg champion Cobolli in the final. Hamburg will test how his big-serving, aggressive game translates onto slower, cooler May clay, but his confidence is sky-high.
Lorenzo Musetti (World No. 8 seed, Italy) - IN. The 2022 Hamburg champion is one of the most natural clay players in the field and reached the semi-finals at Rome last year. The question is how much petrol is left in the tank if he goes deep at Rome the week before. If fresh, his elegant one-handed backhand and clay IQ make him a real title contender.
Flavio Cobolli (Defending Champion, Italy) - IN and looking to defend the biggest title of his career. The Italian announced himself on the world stage with his stunning 6-2, 6-4 win over Rublev in last year's Hamburg final. He'll have a target on his back, but having lifted this trophy before clearly suits him.
Jiri Lehecka, Karen Khachanov, Valentin Vacherot - All IN. The remaining top-8 seeds are dangerous floaters on this surface, with Khachanov in particular bringing heavy ball-striking that can hurt anyone on a slow court.
Other notable names in the draw: Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Francisco Cerundolo, Luciano Darderi, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Jakub Mensik, Corentin Moutet, Joao Fonseca, Brandon Nakashima, Ugo Humbert, Denis Shapovalov, Sebastian Korda and Tomas Machac. Wildcards have gone to home favourites Jan-Lennard Struff and #NextGenATP star Justin Engel.

With Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic all skipping Hamburg, the path is wide open. Zverev is the undisputed title favourite on home soil, but Shelton's in-form aggression, Musetti's clay quality, Auger-Aliassime's shot-making and Cobolli's title defence make this one of the most genuinely open ATP 500 fields of the season. Hamburg's heavy, cooler May clay should reward patient baseliners, heavy topspin hitters and clay-court craftsmen, not too different in profile from what we just saw in Rome.

Tournament Draws

Here are the links to the draws that you can check anytime to follow the latest updates and see which players advance through each round.

Summary

Hamburg offers classic, heavy, low-altitude European clay. The conditions are philosophically very similar to what we just saw at Rome, only with the added twist of cooler northern German May weather. The damp, slow surface, the heavier ball through the air, and the historical Am Rothenbaum atmosphere combine to reward patience, defence, and pure clay-court craft.

So, expect slow and heavy conditions favouring grinders, heavy topspin hitters, and players with elite court coverage and clay-court IQ. Those who relied on big serving in Madrid will struggle to find free points here, while clay specialists who can construct points and weather long rallies will thrive. With Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic all absent, the door is wide open for Zverev to deliver a third Hamburg title in front of his home crowd. But expect Shelton, Musetti, Auger-Aliassime, and a determined Cobolli to make him work for every point.

Ready for a week of classic European clay tennis at the historic Am Rothenbaum, the final ATP-level tune-up before Roland Garros? With Zverev chasing home glory, Cobolli defending his crown, and a wide-open field thanks to a wave of high-profile absences, this could be one of the most narrative-rich Hamburg editions in years. Let's see who handles the slow, cool conditions best and cashes in the fantasy points!

Did You Know?

The first time Federer ever beat Nadal on clay was at Hamburg. Roger Federer won the 2007 Hamburg final 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 over Rafael Nadal. The result not only sealed Federer's record fourth Hamburg title but also snapped Nadal's extraordinary 81-match winning streak on clay, which still stands as the longest single-surface winning run in the Open Era.
Hamburg is the 5th oldest tennis tournament in the world. First contested in 1892, only Wimbledon (1877), the US Championships (1881), the Irish Open (1879) and the Canadian Open (1881) predate it. Despite that incredible heritage, only two German men have ever won the singles title at home in the modern era: Michael Stich in 1993 and Alexander Zverev in 2023. That 30-year gap was finally closed by Zverev in front of his home fans.