Vienna
From cattle market to ATP Tour tennis: Inside Vienna’s historic new venue
Austrian capital’s Marx-Halle hosted second and third courts this yr at ATP 500
October 26, 2025
e-motion/Stefan Strasser
The Marx-Halle, the historic former residence of the Vienna cattle market, has hosted ATP Tour stars for matches and practices this week.
By Andy West
When it got here to the subsequent huge transfer in the way forward for the Erste Bank Open, the crew behind the ATP 500 dug deep into Vienna’s previous.
An indoor hard-court occasion uniquely held throughout two venues, the Erste Bank Open this yr featured a brand new event web site: the historic Marx-Halle, a construction which served as the principle cattle market of the Austrian capital for 120 years earlier than being repurposed as an occasions venue.
This previous 10 days, the Marx-Halle has hosted qualifying and main-draw matches for each singles and doubles on the Erste Bank Open. For event director Herwig Straka, the brand new venue has been a high-quality addition that completely enhances the occasion’s longtime Centre Courtroom venue, the Wiener Stadthalle, the place Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will conflict on Sunday in a blockbuster championship match.
“We discovered Marx-Halle and we knew it was a superb location as a result of it has sufficient area,” Straka advised ATPTour.com when requested about his event’s motivations for a brand new second web site. “It’s the identical circumstances because the Stadthalle and we are able to do what we all the time attempt to do: To broaden, run actions for youths and households. Then we translated it to the thought of followers [being able to purchase] a floor ticket.”
For the earlier 4 editions of the Erste Bank Open, the event’s second web site was a short lived construction on the Heumarkt, a sq. in Vienna’s metropolis centre. Straka says the transfer to the Marx-Halle was motivated by a transparent set of targets, and the suggestions he has obtained throughout the event suggests he and his crew have achieved them.
“[The clearest improvement] is the variety of courts,” mentioned Straka of the Marx-Halle, which options two match courts and one observe courtroom and might host as much as 25,000 followers. “The choice to run a wheelchair occasion now at knowledgeable stage. Perhaps extra occasions sooner or later we may add. It’s area, and actual indoor enjoying circumstances. That’s the foremost distinction and enchancment [from the Heumarkt].”
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High seed Jannik Sinner throughout observe on the Marx-Halle throughout the 2025 Erste Bank Open. Photograph Credit score: e-motion/Stefan Strasser
The No. 16 within the PIF ATP Rankings Alexander Bublik, in addition to different High 40 stars Francisco Cerundolo, Flavio Cobolli, Tomas Machac, Alex Michelsen and Corentin Moutet are amongst these to have contested singles matches on the Marx-Halle this previous week. It has additionally functioned as the principle observe facility for all of the gamers competing on the stacked ATP 500.
“We wished to enhance the standard for the gamers [with our new venue],” mentioned Straka. “It feels one to at least one precisely prefer it does within the Stadthalle. We’ve had good suggestions. All of the gamers, Jannik, Sascha, have practised there. It’s that sort of feeling we wished to create, and we had been profitable.”
In addition to making certain gamers are catered for, Straka’s different main concern when planning the Marx-Halle venue was for visiting followers. He cites the extra ‘private’, up-close expertise out there to tennis lovers as an apparent plus level.
“The followers can get very near prime gamers and inhale and really feel far more than you would do at a foremost centre courtroom,” mentioned Straka. “The power of the gamers and their recreation, even in observe. There are a whole lot of tennis followers there who play themselves actively, so for them watching Jannik practise, for instance, is an enormous expertise.
“I used to be very happy with the tennis within the metropolis idea [from previous years], however at some stage it is advisable be prepared for the subsequent step and to enhance. That is the subsequent step.”
Followers get pleasure from a close-up view of the observe courts on the Marx-Halle. Photograph Credit score: e-motion/Stefan Strasser
