Meet Thomas Enqvist, Tournament Director, BNP Paribas Nordic Open, Stockholm
Thomas Enqvist talks about his special connection with his hometown tennis tournament.
Thomas Enqvist enjoyed a highly successful career as a tennis player, climbing to No. 4 in the world rankings and winning numerous singles titles. Upon retiring in 2005, he spent time with his family and continued to work with the sport, serving as Davis Cup captain of Sweden and as a tennis commentator for broadcast TV. He’s currently building a mentoring program that will call on his 30-plus years of experience in professional tennis and is also the Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open (formerly known as the Stockholm Open), which he won three times. The tournament is held at the Royal Tennis Club of Stockholm (founded 1896), at the Kungliga tennishallen (Royal Tennis Hall; built 1943).
On his new role as Tournament Director of an ATP 250 tournament
I'm from Stockholm and it's a tournament I went to as a kid together with my brother. You get so into the sport when you have the chance to go and see professional tennis with your club or with your family. And, obviously, I played it all the time when I was a professional, so it's a tournament that is very close to my heart. When the opportunity came to become Tournament Director, I didn't hesitate. It's something that I really enjoy being part of, in every way.
On his biggest responsibility as Tournament Director
My main role is taking charge of the playing field. I keep in contact with the players, their managers or the teams around them to put together a strong and exciting playing field for the tournament and to make everything work for the players.
On making a tournament great for players
Everything has become so professional, so it's important that the standard is extremely high because the players need that. We try to make sure that they can do everything that they need to do, that everything works well, they feel like they can work exactly the way they want to work and to continue to improve the game.
And then from the social part of it, Stockholm is a very beautiful city, so of course we try to help them enjoy the city and make sure that they're well taken care of; everything from the hotel, to where they go to eat, or if they want to get a little bit of the Swedish culture as well.
On the role of the tournament in Stockholm
I think we are the oldest indoor tournament on the ATP calendar. We are very proud of that, and we have a very big history, a very loyal crowd and fans who come every year. We have 300 volunteers in the tournament and most of them have been there for such a long time, or maybe they even started as a ball kid and now their children are involved in it. So there’s a very strong bond between the tournament and the city. It's almost like a big family and I think that's something that the players, and not only the Swedish players, really feel, and that's one of our strengths. We are united as a group.
I know Leo Borg (Bjorn Borg's son), has been playing in the club Royal Tennis Club since he was very young, and he's played the tournament the last couple of years. The club is very connected to the event, and I also represented the club. There are lots of multi-generational families that are involved with the club, which adds a special spirit to the tournament.
On whether he feels pressure working at his hometown tournament
It is very motivating. Of course, there’s some pressure because we have a tradition of presenting very strong fields. Almost every top player has been here, so that adds a little bit of pressure, because as good as our fans are, they're also a bit spoilt in that sense, in a good way! They are very used to us having a strong field, but this challenge also makes it fun. A lot of the players are very supportive because they really like the tournament.
It’s very nice for the players because we play in the KLTK, which not many tournaments do these days. The centre court is gorgeous, and it is there year-round and has been for 50 years, so there’s that tradition and history, which you cannot buy as a tournament. If you look at past winners, from Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Roger Federer – everybody has stepped out on that court and that always brings a little extra to the event.
On Laykold’s role in the tournament
The club made the choice to go with Laykold and we resurfaced the courts before, but it's a been a good call. We want to make the court very even and consistent and that’s what we have.
I would say we’re a little bit faster, because in today's game the players are returning so fast and they're moving extremely well and when the surface is a little bit quicker, the matches become even more attractive. That said, it’s a very fair surface: it's a regular hard court, not something that is put on wood or for a week. It’s a court that stays there permanently and it's a nice court to play on.
On the role of the tournament in getting Swedish tennis back on the world stage
It's obviously very important. When we had a lot of top players, it was wonderful for the home fans to watch these players, such as Stefan Edberg. When I was growing up, playing a lot of tennis, it meant so much to watch them play live. And maybe the tournament plays an even bigger part now, which means it’s one of the few times in Sweden where tennis really levels up and gets lots of attention. We get TV and media coverage, and a lot of activities take place around the tournament, so it's like a tennis festival, which is very important for Swedish tennis now, when unfortunately we don't have players who go deep into the Grand Slams or a team that plays Davis Cup finals, like in the past.
“In today’s game the players are returning so fast and they’re moving extremely well and when the surface is a little bit quicker, the matches become even more attractive.”
On how the tournament can get the momentum going again with young players?
Having a strong home tournament and attracting the new generation attracts partners, which is so important to be able to grow financially, from federations to clubs to academies and so on. So it plays a very important part in the big picture.
His favorite memories of the tournament
There’s a couple. Obviously when I won it the first time, which was a childhood dream came true. But I also remember when I went there as a very young boy with my brother, just looking at all those professional players and seeing heroes like Mats Wilander playing, which got me even more into the sport. So I have a very strong connection and strong memories from this tournament.
On what it will take for a player to win the tournament
Like with all indoor tournaments, serving well and returning is very important, but I think the court itself is a very fair one, where you can play different kinds of tennis. You can attack, but it's not extremely fast either. It's a beautiful court to move on and it's great for counter punching. We had an amazing final last year between Rune and Tsitsipas; they used the whole court and it made for such exciting tennis. The crowd is very close to the players, which makes it feel intimate. In my opinion, it’s one of the nicest courts to play on in the world.
The BNP Paribas Nordic Open runs from 14–22 October 2023. For more details, see here: