“For us it is important to not only support Porsche Team Germany in the Fed Cup. We also want to help promising talents develop and accompany young players on their way to the top. The Porsche Talent Team Germany is therefore a project that is very dear to our hearts,” said Bernhard Maier, the Porsche AG Executive Board member with responsibility for sales and marketing. The Deutsche Tennis Bund also sees the Porsche Talent Team Germany as being an important step on the road to establishing German women’s tennis at the top in the long term.

The development curve for the supported players once again pointed upwards in 2014: highly impressive above all was Anna-Lena Friedsam – the reigning German champion at the time – when winning her first WTA tournament in Suzhou/China. Carina Witthöft broke into the Top 100 in the world rankings and caused a surprise when reaching the third round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the Australian Open in January 2015. Antonia Lottner won the 2014 German championship and stood in the doubles semi-final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The trio were also successful at a number of ITF tournaments.

The primary intention behind the sponsorship of Porsche and the DTB is to make the set-up for talented juniors more professional whereby the focus is on the furtherance of individual coaching and guidance both when practicing and at tournaments. The example of Annika Beck is proof that the concept is a success. During her time within the Porsche Talent Team Germany fold, Annika Beck won the junior competition at the 2012 French Open and was afterwards made a member of the senior Porsche Team Germany.

A season highlight for the Porsche Talent Team Germany players will again be the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this year. “Everything comes full circle at the tournament,” said Barbara Rittner, the Porsche Team Germany captain. “In Stuttgart, our players can gain valuable experience in the strong qualifying tournament and can later watch the world’s top players and learn from them.” Carina Witthöft and Anna-Lena Friedsam will be joined in their attempt to win a main draw berth by Antonia Lottner, Katharina Gerlach, Katharina Hobgarski and Lena Rüffer who have each been given a qualifying wild card.

The support for DTB is an essential part of Porsche’s sponsoring concept which covers every part of society. Thus the company is also the partner of the world famous Stuttgart Ballet and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under the banner “Premium meets Premium”. It additionally supports junior activities in sport clubs in Baden Württemberg and Saxony as well as a variety of scientific and charity projects. By sponsoring a broad spectrum of activities, Porsche wants to further embrace its social responsibility within society.