The search by the German Tennis Association (DTB) for a successor to Barbara Rittner, 51, as women’s national coach took eight and a half months, and now the tennis association with the largest membership in the world has found what she is looking for. Last Tuesday morning, DTB board member Veronika Rücker introduced the experienced Torben Beltz as the new coach in charge of the women’s division at the DTB base and performance center of the Bavarian Tennis Association in Oberhaching. The 48-year-old from Itzhoe had led Angelique Kerber to two of her three Grand Slam triumphs and to first place in the world rankings. Beltz later also coached top players Donna Vekic (Croatia), Emma Raducanu (Great Britain) and Anett Kontaveit (Estonia). Beltz was “our preferred candidate” from the start, emphasized Rücker, “we are convinced that we have the perfect solution in Torben Beltz”.
Beltz is not taking on an easy task; the times when reliable representatives of the DTB such as Kerber, Julia Görges, Andrea Petkovic and Sabine Lisicki regularly celebrated success are long gone. The highest ranked German player in the world rankings is currently 36-year-old Laura Siegemund in 83rd place; Tatjana Maria, 37, in 87th place and Jule Niemeier, 25, in 91st place are the only other Germans also in the top 100. Beltz remembered the victorious era of the so-called golden generation around Kerber with nostalgia, but he gave in , as is his style, immediately optimistic and hands-on: “We want to go there again,” he said, “we have great talent.” By that he meant advancing players like Eva Lys (22/130.) and Ella Seidel (19/141.).
:A touch of vintage Angie
Lost four singles and still won the title: Angelique Kerber is experiencing an unusual return to the tour at the United Cup. The soon-to-be 36-year-old is now excited to see how she does at the Australian Open.
For the DTB, filling the position of women’s national coach is of great importance, because involving top coaches is part of the competitive sports concept adopted in 2023 with the title “Together! World class! Develop!” – “As the largest association, we aspire to be world class,” emphasized Rücker and presented figures that the DTB wants to achieve by 2032. When the Olympic Games take place in Brisbane, eight to ten German professionals should be in the top 100 of the world rankings. There are currently four Germans represented among the men, Alexander Zverev (27/2), Jan-Lennard Struff (34/42), Daniel Altmaier (26/89) and Yannick Hanfmann (33/96).
For the DTB, the success of its actors is also financially important
“The starting situation is not that bad,” said DTB President Dietloff von Arnim, who was also present like BTV President Helmut Schmidbauer, but also self-critically noted: “There is a nice saying: The world rankings don’t lie.” Above all, If the older professionals like Maria, Siegemund and Struff stop, the German situation could worsen significantly if young talent has not caught up with the world’s top players by then.
For the DTB, the success of its actors is also financially important, as it ultimately involves federal funding. Since performance at the Olympic Games is a particular criterion, the DTB has adapted its targets to the Olympic cycle. At the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, for example, there should be two medals. Arnim still sees the four Grand Slam nations from Australia, France, Great Britain and the USA as having an advantage, especially financially, so he demanded: “We have to be smarter.” For example, the DTB wants to install significantly more tournaments in the lower-class professional sector To give talented people more competition practice. Italy is currently following this path very successfully.
Beltz’s contract initially runs for one year until the end of 2025, which seems contradictory given the long-term nature with which the DTB is setting its new course. But Beltz made it clear that he would of course like to stay beyond 2025, but initially preferred what he called a “kind of probationary period”. On December 16th, Beltz starts his new position with a first course in Oberhaching; Andrea Petkovic, now a consultant for DTB talent, will support him.
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