Das kleine Abzeichen öffnet Türen. Angelique Kerber trägt es auf ihrer Trainingsjacke. Als ehemalige Siegerin gehört sie in Wimbledon zu den Mitgliedern des exklusiven All England Lawn Tennis Clubs, erhält Tickets, darf ausgewählte Bereiche auf der Anlage nutzen und lebenslang kostenlos trainieren.
Doch auf die ganz großen Plätze führt sie ihr Status nicht mehr. In ihrem Erstrundenmatch musste die 36 Jahre alte Deutsche auf Court 12 spielen, dem südlichsten auf der Anlage, und nach dem 5:7, 3:6 gegen die Kasachin Julija Putinzewa war klar: Auf einen größeren Court wird es in diesem Jahr in Wimbledon nicht mehr gehen.
Die Deutsche zeigte sich hinterher ziemlich enttäuscht. „Ich bin fast gar nicht in meinen Rhythmus gekommen, habe zu viele leichte Fehler in den wichtigen Momenten gemacht“, sagte Kerber, die bei ihren vergangenen vier Turnieren jeweils in der ersten Runde ausgeschieden ist. Dreimal auf Rasen, ihrem Lieblingsbelag.
The focus now turns to the Olympics. She will be there with me. Laura Siegemund Kerber is also nominated in the singles category, as announced recently by the DTB. The Kiel native does not yet know whether she will play another tournament before then. “It was not the plan, but let's see now,” Kerber said. There is probably little hope of a reversal of the trend.
“I still enjoy tennis”
In Paris, the game is played on clay, Kerber's weakest surface. Doubles is not one of her favourite disciplines either. And then? “I still enjoy tennis,” she confirmed, but when asked if this was her last appearance at Wimbledon, Kerber had no answer: “I don't know. I didn't come here with those thoughts.”
The most successful German player of recent years did not seem to be thinking about any concrete scenarios for his farewell. But it would not be surprising if Kerber were to wonder if she is on the right track after her maternity leave and would return to the tour in December.
From time to time the old class appeared
She has lost 14 of her 21 matches this year. She reached the round of 16 in Indian Wells and Rome. Otherwise, she always ended up in the first round. At Wimbledon, her opponent dictated the rallies. Kerber was not bad in the game and occasionally showed glimpses of her old class. But Putintseva seemed a little better in many areas, making fewer mistakes, being more consistent and, above all, more aggressive.
Kerber currently still benefits from the so-called “Protected Ranking”, which guarantees her a certain number of tournaments on the WTA Women’s Professional Circuit in which she can play with her previous ranking position from before her break (31). This will no longer be the case at the latest next year. Kerber, currently number 221 in the world, would then have to rely on her old merits to open doors for her, as they did recently at Wimbledon: the organisers had given her a wild card.