Behind the scenes of the Saturn Oil Open 2022: When two tennis entrepreneurs understand each other and complement each other perfectly

This year, the premiere of the Saturn Oil Open , ATP Tennis on the Rhine & Ruhr will take place as an ATP tennis tournament at TC RW-Troisdorf eV from May 22nd to 29th, 2022 As TennisTraveller there as a tournament partner right from the start. Today we would like to give you something behind the scenes of the new ATP tournament, because there is already exciting news to report in the run-up to the tournament. Two people from Cologne, two tennis entrepreneurs - a common understanding and an ideal complement to their respective skills. These are the two organizers of the Saturn Oil Open Davis Cup champion Marc-Kevin Goellner (51) and tennis entrepreneur Marc Raffel (57). In the interview, the two tennis enthusiasts talk about motives, motivations and the value, status and prospects of large, international tennis events.

The Saturn Oil Open is an event as part of the ATP Challenger tour. The winner receives 80 ATP points, handsome prize money and the B & B Hotels Tennis Trophy. Our editorial team spoke to the two organizers.

You run a successful tennis academy in Cologne. What motivated you to be part of the Saturn Oil Open as co-tournament director at ATP level?

Marc-Kevin Goellner: Getting to know Marc Raffel. He has been organizing successful international tennis events for years, in which my young professionals have repeatedly taken part. One day we both came up with the idea of ​​setting up a project together and we quickly realized that we complement each other very well.

The title sponsor of the Saturn Oil Open is based in Canada. How did the collaboration come about?

Marc-Kevin Goellner: Over ten years ago, a tennis player friend and successful investor pointed me to Saturn Oil & Gas. Since then I have been in direct contact with the company. I was recently told that around half of Saturn's shareholders are in German-speaking countries. For this reason, it also made sense to think about the Saturn Oil Open ATP tennis tournament. This is great advertising for the company as the main sponsor because everyone is talking about it, but the money used goes directly to the youth. We would also like to use the tournament as a platform to collect donations for the flood victims in the Ahr Valley. Saturn is an important support for us in this tournament and everyone involved benefits from it for really good causes. It is also a nice sign when a successful company gives something back to society through social commitments.

You have been active as an entrepreneur in the tennis scene for several years. What are your work focuses?

Marc Raffel: I worked as a team manager and organizer for the German record champions BW Neuss for many years. I signed world stars like Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka and was able to work with them. In total, I have already organized twelve ATP and almost 20 ITF tennis tournaments. I was spokesman for the Tennis Bundesliga for several years. With my agency we advise athletes and have been organizing tennis camps abroad for some time. I have been running the Meerbusch Sports and Tennis Resort for a good two years.

Now the city of Troisdorf has an ATP tennis tournament and the large, immediately neighboring metropolis of Cologne does not. What are the reasons for this?

Marc-Kevin Goellner: That's a difficult question. I believe that many structures are already very entrenched and find it difficult to allow or promote new things. In Troisdorf, the support for our ATP tournament is fortunately very broad. The district administrator, mayor and the organizing club are pulling together with us. And without wanting to praise ourselves too much, Marc Raffel and I already have a tremendous amount of expertise together, which obviously makes events like the Saturn Oil Open possible.

Is the start of the Saturn Oil Open planned for the long term?

Marc Raffel: Yes, definitely. Now, however, it's time to master the premiere first and then start further planning. I'm working hard to ensure that the Saturn Oil Open remains on the tournament calendar in the coming years and believe in a successful, long-term perspective. The mix of sponsors is exemplary; in addition to Saturn Oil & Gas from Canada and B & B Hotels GmbH and MK Consulting Hotelmanagement GmbH, many municipal and regional companies are on board.

The tournament landscape of professional tennis tournaments in Germany is very manageable. Why don't we have more ATP tournaments like the Saturn Oil Open?

Marc-Kevin Goellner: Organizing an event like this takes up an enormous amount of time and responsibility.
However, the RW Troisdorf association and the region support us in an exemplary manner. And then you need the people who can take risks and tackle things. Bringing all of this together is a big challenge that many people shy away from. In my opinion, more ITF tournaments should also be organized in Germany - i.e. the entry-level tournaments - in order to create a tournament landscape that is interesting for young German players. We have one of the largest tennis associations in the world. If each of our national associations organized four of these tournaments a year, which they would certainly be able to do, we would be able to better transport our young talent to international events. It is currently extremely expensive to finance these tournaments abroad for young players. The sporting successes do not materialize. “One reason for the current plight of young talent in Germany is definitely an underdeveloped tournament calendar”

With the Saturn Oil Open you are presenting the third ATP tennis tournament in NRW after the Noventi Open in Halle and the Rhein Asset Open in Meerbusch. How does the Saturn Oil Open fit into the entire German tournament calendar?

Marc Raffel: The German tennis tournament landscape urgently needs new events and a clear concept. Behind the big tournaments in Munich, Hamburg and Halle, there are important ATP Challenger tournaments in Heilbronn, Braunschweig, Eckenthal, Ismaning, Lüdenscheid and Meerbusch. These are not only popular events for the entire region but also an important playing field for our German professionals. In this area, the organizers need to get a lot more support from the associations, there is still a lot of room for improvement. One reason for our current lack of talent in Germany is definitely an underdeveloped tournament calendar. At this point I would like to highlight the important, outstanding commitment of the organizing TC RW Troisdorf eV with President Uwe Maas and the chairmen Volker de Cloedt and Claus Dreser, who live and breathe our project and make it possible. Such partnerships are exemplary.

Which players are you expecting at the Saturn Oil Open?

Marc Raffel: Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer definitely don't play at ATP Challenger tournaments. Most of them are cracks from the ATP positions 70-200, so world class is still guaranteed. As already mentioned, I have been organizing an ATP Challenger tournament in Meerbusch for several years. Players like Daniel Altmaier, Oscar Otte, Botic van de Zandschulp Robin Haase and Dustin Brown recently played there. The French Open winners Krawietz/Mies and Sascha Zverev were also there and much more.