Wildcards for Justin Engel and Nick Kyrgios
Last year, Justin Engel more than lived up to his reputation as Germany’s top young talent at the BOSS OPEN. On his way to the quarterfinals in 2025, the Nuremberg native defeated higher-ranked players James Duckworth of Australia and American Alex Michelsen, thrilling fans with spectacular grass-court tennis. Reason enough to award the 18-year-old a wildcard for this year’s edition of Stuttgart’s tennis highlight from June 6 to 14, granting him direct entry into the main draw. The Australian tennis eccentric Nick Kyrgios will also return to the Weissenhof thanks to a wildcard.
With his sensational run to the quarterfinals last year at the BOSS OPEN, Justin Engel followed in the footsteps of the legendary Boris Becker. His victories over James Duckworth and Alex Michelsen made the then 17-year-old not only the youngest Stuttgart quarterfinalist of all time, but also the youngest quarterfinalist at an ATP grass-court event since 1985, when a certain Boris Becker reached that stage at Wimbledon. Other highlights of Engel’s season included winning the Challenger tournament in Hamburg and qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. In the meantime, Engel has fought his way into the Top 200 of the world rankings.
“The success at the BOSS OPEN showed me that I’m on the right path. The tournament is perfectly organized and the German fans create an incredible atmosphere in every match. I’m very grateful for the trust placed in me by awarding me another main-draw wildcard. It means a lot to me,” said the Nuremberg-born player.
Tournament director Edwin Weindorfer has awarded wildcards for the 28-player main draw not only to Justin Engel but also to Nick Kyrgios, who is currently working on a comeback. The Australian has already produced memorable moments at Stuttgart’s Weissenhof. In 2018, Kyrgios delivered a thrilling semifinal battle against Roger Federer, which the Swiss maestro only managed to win in the third-set tiebreak.
“The Weissenhof is a great tennis venue with really good grass courts. Every time I’ve been there, I’ve had a great time – the fans and the atmosphere are very special, so I’m really looking forward to coming back,” said Nick Kyrgios, who last competed in Stuttgart in 2023.
“Justin Engel showed in Stuttgart last year that he is emerging as one of the great hopes for German men’s tennis. With the wildcard for the BOSS OPEN, he can gain further valuable experience that will be very important for the rest of his career. With Nick Kyrgios, one of the most colorful personalities in the tennis world is returning to Stuttgart. He is always capable of surprises on the court, so we are very excited to see him play here,” explained Edwin Weindorfer.
With Engel and Kyrgios, two more exciting players have joined the main draw of the 2026 BOSS OPEN. Previously, defending champion Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul (all USA), Matteo Berrettini (ITA), and German local favorite Jan-Lennard Struff had already confirmed their participation in the Stuttgart grass-court tournament.