Tournament Director Richard Krajicek: 'The crowd truly understands tennis’

Tournament Director Richard Krajicek looks back with pride and gratitude on an unforgettable week of top-level tennis, featuring enthusiastic fans and satisfied world-class players at Rotterdam Ahoy.

How do you look back on the tournament?

"It was a wonderful edition with a great deal of sporting excitement. On Monday evening, I briefly wondered whether everything would turn out well. After the withdrawals of Alcaraz and Zverev, Medvedev was also eliminated. Then Botic van de Zandschulp struggled in the first round against Pavlovic, who had come through qualifying. I thought, 'What is going to happen here?’ But Botic won, and from that point on, from a sporting perspective, the tournament ran virtually flawlessly. Even before the final, we already knew the tournament would have a Top 10 winner. It’s great for Alex de Minaur that this time he was able to leave Rotterdam with the winner’s trophy. He’s an incredibly strong player, returns every ball, and you don’t get any free points from Alex. For Felix Auger-Aliassime, it was his ninth match in twelve days, you’re bound to feel that in the end.”

You could see the crowd enjoying themselves at Rotterdam Ahoy.

"That’s wonderful and exactly what we aim for. The crowd is also very supportive and true sport fans. Everyone saw that on Friday during the match between Botic van de Zandschulp and Alex de Minaur. You don’t see that everywhere. The players feel completely at home at this tournament thanks to the outstanding practice facilities. We also listen very carefully to feedback from the crowd. Wherever possible, we make adjustments to improve the tournament. Something the players really appreciate this as well: the fans not only enjoy the event, they genuinely understand tennis.”

Six Dutch players in the main draw this year?

"That’s obviously very positive! Six Dutch players in the main draw. I was very impressed with the overall level of the players this year. It was unfortunate that Jesper de Jong lost in the first round. It was also great to see Mees Röttgering and Thijs Boogaard showcase their tremendous talent at the highest level at such a young age. Mees showed real mental maturity. In the qualifying rounds, he managed to reset after missing a match point. Thijs is a year younger, and made his debut on Centre Court. These are very young and promising players for the future.”

All this with an exceptionally high attendance…

"With 139,556 spectators, everyone within the tournament organisation is extremely satisfied. It’s the second-highest attendance in our history. We notice that we have a very loyal crowd that enjoys coming back. Even so, during the tournament you also depend on external factors such as the weather conditions, no one wants snow or icy roads on the way back! Fortunately, it only started snowing after the final. That certainly didn’t dampen the mood.

A final conclusion?

"From our 'On Top Of Tennis’ philosophy, we’ve once again made significant progress. An improved Wheelchair Arena, a revamped Centre Court featuring the player walk-on through the tunnel accompanied by music from the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and a new restaurant at Shops & Bites, to name just a few examples. The team truly creates a unique setting with attention to every detail. And given the attendance numbers and the reactions from the fans, the conclusion is clear: all’s well that ends well.”