Stuttgart Open ATP 250 – 2026 Preview
The historic Tennis Club Weissenhof is ready to host another thrilling edition of the BOSS Open, with top seed Ben Shelton and defending champion Taylor Fritz headlining one of the strongest ATP 250 fields of the season
Stuttgart, Germany · 8 Jun – 14 Jun
The Stuttgart Open, officially known in 2026 as the BOSS Open, is an annual professional ATP 250 tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany. It is played on outdoor grass courts at the Tennis Club Weissenhof and runs the same week as the Libema Open, immediately after Roland Garros, as one of the first grass-court tune-ups on the road to Wimbledon. The 2026 edition is the 48th staging of the tournament.
Tournament Schedule
- Qualifying: Saturday, 7 June and Sunday, 8 June at 11 a.m. CEST
- Main Draw: Monday, 9 June to Saturday, 13 June
- Doubles Final: Sunday, 14 June at 11:30 a.m.
- Singles Final: Sunday, 14 June, not before 2 p.m. CEST
Prize Money and Ranking Points
Total Prize Money: € 768,220
| Round | Prize Money | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | € 116,855 | 250 |
| Finalist | € 68,170 | 165 |
| Semi-finalist | € 40,070 | 100 |
| Quarter-finalist | € 23,220 | 50 |
| Round of 16 | € 13,480 | 25 |
| Round of 32 | € 8,235 | 0 |
History
The Stuttgart Open is one of Germany's most storied tennis tournaments, with roots stretching back to 1898 at the Tennis Club Weissenhof, and it is now in its 48th edition as an ATP event. For decades it was the MercedesCup, with Mercedes-Benz as title sponsor from 1979 to 2021 famously presenting the singles champion with a brand-new car; since 2022 it has been the BOSS Open under Hugo Boss. The defining change of the modern era came in 2015, when the event switched from clay to grass and moved into June, reinventing itself as a Wimbledon warm-up. Rafael Nadal holds the record for most titles, with three, while Roger Federer, champion in 2018 at the age of 36, and a 17-year-old Andrei Medvedev in 1992 are the oldest and youngest champions respectively. Recent grass-era winners read like a who's who of the tour: two-time champion Matteo Berrettini, Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper and, in 2025, Taylor Fritz. The 2026 edition is led by tournament director Edwin Weindorfer.
Tournament Data
Stuttgart sits at a modest elevation of roughly 245 metres (around 800 feet) above sea level, noticeably higher than the near-sea-level grass of 's-Hertogenbosch. The natural grass at the Tennis Club Weissenhof plays as a quick, true grass surface that, like all grass, marks a sharp departure from the clay that came before.
These are the characteristics to expect on grass, consistent year to year:
- High ace counts and a heavy premium on serve, with the low bounce rewarding big first serves and flat, penetrating ball-striking
- Short average rallies and first-strike tennis; serve-plus-one patterns and aggressive net play are richly rewarded
- A slightly livelier, truer bounce than the damper, lower-altitude Dutch grass, which can suit powerful baseliners who like the ball coming onto the racquet
- High service-hold and tiebreak rates, making early-week results streaky and upset-prone as players transition from the dirt
- Warmer, drier finishing weather over the closing weekend tends to make the courts play faster and livelier than the cooler opening days
Tournament Past Winners
| Year | Winner | Runner Up | Semi-finalist 1 | Semi-finalist 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Taylor Fritz | Alexander Zverev | Ben Shelton | Felix Auger-Aliassime |
| 2024 | Jack Draper | Matteo Berrettini | Brandon Nakashima | Lorenzo Musetti |
| 2023 | Frances Tiafoe | Jan-Lennard Struff | Marton Fucsovics | Hubert Hurkacz |
| 2022 | Matteo Berrettini | Andy Murray | Oscar Otte | Nick Kyrgios |
| 2021 | Marin Cilic | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Denis Shapovalov | Sam Querrey |
The 2020 edition was not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weather
This week in Stuttgart, conditions are seasonable and improving for mid-June in southern Germany. The opening days are cloudy and cool with a real chance of showers and highs around 17°C (62°F), before warmer, brighter and drier weather arrives for the closing weekend. Saturday highs climb toward 24°C (75°F) and a sunlit Sunday final should sit around 21°C (70°F). The warmer, drier finish should make for fast, lively grass and excellent conditions for the headline matches, a welcome contrast to the damp, cooler grass further north in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Key 2026 News and Storylines
The Big One: Roland Garros Reshapes the Field
The headline story in Stuttgart is who is missing. A cluster of players who went deep in Paris pulled out of the BOSS Open in the days before it began. New Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev, who was last year's Stuttgart finalist and would have been the home favourite, withdrew after winning his maiden Grand Slam and is resting before Halle. His Paris final opponent Flavio Cobolli and semi-finalist Jakub Mensik also withdrew, and two-time champion Matteo Berrettini was forced out by a hip injury picked up at Roland Garros. The reshuffle thins the top of the draw but still leaves a powerful, serve-heavy field led by Ben Shelton and defending champion Taylor Fritz.
Major Absences
- Alexander Zverev (new Roland Garros champion, 2025 finalist here) WITHDREW. Fresh off the biggest win of his career in Paris, the German opted to rest and will not begin his grass season until the ATP 500 in Halle, skipping his home 250 entirely.
- Flavio Cobolli (Roland Garros finalist, Italy) WITHDREW after his run to the Paris final, choosing recovery over the quick turnaround onto grass.
- Jakub Mensik (Roland Garros semi-finalist) WITHDREW to rest after his deep run in Paris.
- Matteo Berrettini (two-time Stuttgart champion, Italy) is OUT with a hip injury suffered during his Roland Garros quarter-final.
- Carlos Alcaraz (wrist) and Jannik Sinner are also absent: Alcaraz remains injured, while the World No. 1 is taking a lighter route into Wimbledon.
Key Players In (or Status to Watch)
- Ben Shelton (top seed, USA) is IN and now heads the field as World No. 5 after the wave of withdrawals. The explosive lefty was a Stuttgart semi-finalist in 2025 and is still chasing a first grass-court title; his thunderous serve is perfectly suited to these quick courts, making him a clear favourite.
- Taylor Fritz (second seed, defending champion, USA) is IN. Fritz won the 2025 title without dropping serve all week and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, making him one of the best grass-courters around, even if he arrives a little short of match play.
- Alexander Bublik (third seed, Kazakhstan) is IN. The unpredictable showman and serial ATP 250 winner has the serve and the flair to blow anyone off the court on grass when he is firing.
- Jiri Lehecka (fourth seed, Czech Republic) is IN. The powerful Czech ball-striker has a heavy, flat game that travels well onto a fast surface.
- Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Corentin Moutet complete the eight seeds, with 2023 champion Tiafoe the most proven of that group on Stuttgart grass. A returning Nick Kyrgios and Brandon Nakashima add further intrigue, while home hopes rest on German wildcards Jan-Lennard Struff, Daniel Altmaier, Yannick Hanfmann and Justin Engel.
The top four seeds all receive first-round byes. Even with the Roland Garros contingent gone, Stuttgart still boasts a deep, serve-led field: Shelton arrives as the man to beat, Fritz knows exactly how to win here, and Bublik, Lehecka and the chasing pack are all built for the surface.
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
Stuttgart offers a quick, true grass tune-up at modest altitude, with conditions that reward big serving, flat hitting and first-strike aggression. Like every event this week, it asks players to switch instantly from the patience of clay to the explosiveness of grass, and the warmer, drier weather expected for the finals should only make the courts faster and livelier.
So, expect serve-dominated, aggressive tennis, plenty of service holds and a high tiebreak count, with shotmakers and powerful ball-strikers holding the edge. Even after the Roland Garros contingent withdrew, the field remains strong: a defending champion who owns these courts in Fritz, a top seed in red-hot serving form in Shelton, and a wave of big servers in Bublik, Lehecka and the chasing pack.
Ready for a week of fast, lively grass at the historic Tennis Club Weissenhof on the road to Wimbledon? With Shelton heading the field, Fritz defending his crown, a returning Nick Kyrgios and one of the deeper 250 fields of the year despite the late withdrawals, this should still be a compelling Stuttgart edition. Let's see who handles the grass best and cashes in the fantasy points.
Did You Know?
- The champion used to drive away in a brand-new car. From 1979 to 2021, when the event was the MercedesCup, Mercedes-Benz was the title sponsor and the singles winner traditionally received a new Mercedes alongside the trophy. Since 2022 the tournament has been the BOSS Open under Hugo Boss.
- No German man has won at home since 1991. Michael Stich was the last home champion in Stuttgart, way back in 1991. The man best placed to end that drought, new Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev, withdrew this year to rest after Paris, so German hopes of a first home title in 35 years rest with wildcards such as Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniel Altmaier.