Mayar Sherif outlasts Paula Badosa in 3h26min marathon at Hamburg Ladies Open, reaches semifinals

A Second Meeting in Hamburg

On Monday, Mayar Sherif (30/Egypt) and Paula Badosa (28/Spain) faced each other in the final of the tennis tournament in Iași, Romania. The match had been postponed by a day due to bad weather. With the score at 6:4, 4-0 in favor of Sherif, former world No. 2 Badosa retired.

Immediately afterward, both players flew together to Hamburg in a private jet at the expense of the Romanian organizer. Curiously, only four days later, the two met again in the quarterfinals of the "MSC Hamburg Ladies Open" at Rothenbaum (prize money: €247,674).

A Historic Marathon

Badosa played strongly, repeatedly hitting world-class shots. But Sherif fought back, leading to one of the longest women's matches in Rothenbaum history. After 3 hours and 26 minutes, Sherif defeated her flight companion for the second time in a week – this time 7:6, 6:7, 6:4.

"I felt like she was the better player today," the Egyptian said fairly. "Maybe I was mentally better. I just hung in there, and she didn't play her best tennis in the crucial moments."

Friendship at 30,000 Feet

On the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Hamburg, the two women got to know each other better.

"We talked the whole time," Sherif said. "We laughed a lot. We didn't know each other before. Now I know her, and we are friends, I would say," raved the world No. 55 about the ex-girlfriend of tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas (27). "She is such a nice person."

A Pioneer for Egyptian Tennis

Sherif made history in 2020 when the tennis pioneer became the first Egyptian woman to enter the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open in Paris. Even football star Mo Salah (34/then FC Liverpool) congratulated her. On Saturday, she can now become the first Egyptian to reach the final at Rothenbaum.

Bondar with Rothenbaum Magic in the Semifinals

Anna Bondar (29) also has excellent chances of reaching the final. The Hungarian has reached the final four times in two appearances at her favorite tournament. In 2024, she won both singles and doubles. In 2025, world No. 97 again reached both finals – and lost.

On Friday, Bondar once again showed Rothenbaum magic against Alina Charaeva (24/Armenia), winning 6:1, 7:6. She beamed afterward: "I love coming here. I just love this court and the atmosphere."

This year, however, she can reach a maximum of one final. Reason: She is skipping the doubles.

"In the last two years, doubles cost me a bit of energy. Also, this is my last clay court tournament before I switch to hard court. So I thought it was a good idea to skip doubles this time."

In the semifinals on Saturday, she will face Armenian Elina Avanesyan (23). Because top-seeded Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova (25) surprisingly withdrew due to an abdominal muscle injury, Avanesyan advanced to the last four without a fight.