Tennis: Laura Siegemund demands a mixed doubles starting place in Paris.

Laura Siegemund is known for getting straight to the point, so she didn’t beat around the bush. The 36-year-old had just expressed her satisfaction with her first appearance at the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon, where she had actually played well in her opening 6:4, 6:1 victory against the Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl. Now the Olympics were the topic of the press conference, and Siegemund announced that she would be competing in the women’s doubles with Angelique Kerber in Paris in August – and that she was firmly convinced that she would also be allowed to play in the mixed doubles for Germany. At the very least, she would not understand why she had not been nominated. She was somewhat irritated by the fact that she had not yet received any clarity on this from the German Tennis Association (DTB).

Siegemund on the Olympics: “There is no reason why I cannot play mixed doubles”

“I just wouldn’t understand if I wasn’t allowed to play the mixed doubles on the women’s side,” said Siegemund. “I think I deserve it with the performances I showed at the United Cup and now in Paris.” In January, she shone alongside Alexander Zverev at the team competition called the United Cup in Australia and contributed a lot to winning the title. She recently triumphed at the French Open with the Frenchman Édouard Roger-Vasselin. “There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to play the mixed doubles,” she said, which was understandable given the record.

She also told the DTB, primarily board member Veronika Rücker and women’s team manager Rainer Schüttler, that she would like to play mixed doubles with Zverev in Paris. “I would be really keen to play with him there,” she stressed. She could also imagine forming a duo with doubles specialist Tim Pütz. With Zverev, it would be “a short-term decision,” said Siegemund. She has not yet received any answers. Her comment to the DTB: “I like to know where I stand, and in this case, I don’t.”

The combination with Kerber was created based on sporting considerations; the former world number one will not be in the mixed field due to her world ranking position, but will probably be in the doubles with Siegemund. The two spoke on the phone, Siegemund said, and “she said she would like to play doubles with me because she wants to play doubles when she really has a chance of winning a medal.” Anna-Lena Friedsam would also have been a possible partner, but the 30-year-old has been injured for a long time. “And Jule Niemeier didn’t want to play doubles,” said Siegemund.

Alexander Zverev also had a successful first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday. The 27-year-old defeated Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6:2, 6:4, 6:2. “I’m happy with how I started the tournament. I’ve had my problems over the years. But I feel different this year,” said the world number four: “I’ve decided that I love grass courts.” Before Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniel Altmaier had already reached the second round.