Porsche · digital presskit · “I’m always open to something new”

Angelique Kerber is Germany’s model tennis player. She has worked her way up from the very bottom all the way to the top, has got over setbacks and learnt from losses and wins. They are the qualities that helped her break through to become one of the world’s top players. She has been representing Porsche as a National Brand Ambassador since January 2015.

In engaging Angelique Kerber, who, one week before the start of the 2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2015, celebrated one of the biggest successes of her career by winning the WTA Premier tournament in Charleston/USA, Porsche has intensified its successful sponsorship of women’s tennis. “Angelique Kerber’s dynamism and fighting spirit have secured here a firm place amongst the world’s tennis elite. Her friendly demeanour has made her one of the most popular German sportswomen. She and Porsche therefore go together,” said Matthias Müller, CEO of Porsche AG. As a part of the Premium Partnership with the “Deutschen Tennis Bund” (DTB – the German Tennis Association), Porsche has been supporting Porsche Team Germany and Porsche Talent Team Germany since 2012. Matthias Müller continued: “Alongside the successful partnership with the DTB, the collaboration with the top German player is a logical step. For Porsche, the engaging of Angelique Kerber as a National Brand Ambassador is a further indication of our commitment to women’s tennis.”

Going onto court at tournaments adorned with the Porsche patch is something quite special for Angelique Kerber. She had already savoured the feeling in Fed Cup as a member of Porsche Team Germany. However it now gives her even greater pleasure. Being a brand ambassador is something personal, individual and for a lone rider like her, it takes on an even greater magnitude.

“I’m proud and happy to be able to represent such a prestigious company like Porsche as a brand ambassador. It is a big honour for me,” said Angelique Kerber. “In supporting Porsche Team Germany and Porsche Talent Team Germany, Porsche has instilled a new dynamism within German women’s tennis. I will do my best as a player to add many additional chapters to the success story and be a worthy representative of Porsche as a brand ambassador.”

Angelique Kerber was born in Bremen on 18 January 1988. Her mother Beata is German, father Slawek comes from Poland. She has been playing tennis for as long as she can remember and has been standing on a tennis court with a racket in her left hand ever since she was three. Also a competitive swimmer as a teenager, she decided to embark upon a career as a tennis professional after passing her school leaving exam at the age of 16. Angelique Kerber’s big breakthrough came in 2011 when she reached the semi-final of the US Open. Though she lost to the eventual winner Sam Stosur, for the then world No. 92 it was her biggest success. She secured her first title on the WTA Tour when winning the indoor tournament in Paris in February 2012, the second followed in Copenhagen. She broke into the world’s Top 10 in 2012 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 on 22 October 2012. To date she has won three WTA tournaments: Paris and Copenhagen in 2012 and Linz in 2013. She twice – in 2012 and 2013 – qualified for the WTA Championships contested by the season’s eight most successful players. In 2014 she led Porsche Team Germany as its No. 1 to the Fed Cup final.

That staying at the top is far more difficult than getting there is something Angelique Kerber readily admits. To motivate yourself over and over again, to give your all in practice after annoying defeats and to play at a constantly high level requires lots of hard work. “You have to develop a passion for your occupation,” she said. “Nothing is possible without such passion.”

What makes Angelique Kerber so credible and likeable is her naturalness. One doesn’t have to be afraid that success will go to her head. After breaking through to become one of the world’s top players and with her world ranking and bank balance rising in lockstep, sitting in Kiel - north Germany - she didn’t decide to move to a domicile befitting her position in Monaco, Florida or California. Quite the contrary she withdrew to the little Polish town of Puszczykowo where her grandparents have a tennis centre. She herself has founded an academy for talented young players. Whether she will work there once she retires is something she hasn’t decided upon yet but it is not something she is ruling out. “Let’s see what happens,” she said, “I’m always open to something new.”