European summer grass report of 2021

Tennis Tourism for Germany in 2021 was too soon

As a tennis journalist, I was able to enter Europe in June 2021 before the official tourist restrictions were lifted for vaccinated Americans. This article offers a glimpse of reality for American travelers and foreign tennis fans considering a European vacation this summer.

Grass Court Tennis

This seemed like an exciting opportunity to cover a couple important grass tournaments at the WTA Berlin and ATP Halle locations in Germany.

Held in mid-June, these were the key warm-up events for Wimbledon. Plus, I was eager and excited to finally be going to Europe for the first time since COVID-19 became our new reality.

Flying and Testing
Before my trip began, I was pleased to secure a round trip ticket for $500 USD on TAP Portugal from Washington DC to Lisbon and then Berlin and back.

Prior to flying, I used Same Day Health covid-19 testing to present a negative PCR test and associate it with my passport # in order to fly into Portugal. Even being fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine and having my CDC health card was insufficient for entry.

Getting PCR Tests in Europe

Once I arrived in Germany, daily COVID test documents were officially required by all hotels each night of my stay. In Berlin, I walked 20 minutes to Mitte (Center of the city) to get my test first thing in the morning. Test results for 75 Euros were guaranteed to come within 24 hours, though the results came back near the very tail end of that limit. However, a faster test would have doubled my testing cost.

In retrospect, a simple "rapid antigen" test at the airport for 40 Euros would have been the better option, but there was a lot of competing and conflicting information out there. Different countries and locations accept different types of tests for entry, increasing the complexity. TPG's frequent flying staffers had their own field reports that echoed similar confusion at European airports. It is definitely a big business for test companies that issue time-sensitive test results to desperate travelers.

The true cost I'd estimate was about $200-$300 more when you add in all the required PCR tests before and after the trip. It can be a bit cheaper if you plan can afford to wait at least 48 hours for the test results sent digitally.

Grass Tennis - Finally!?

Once I cleared the testing hurdle, I was able to attend the grass-court tournaments in Berlin and Halle.

Roger Federer made his appearance at the tournament he had won 10 times in Halle. The excitement of his appearance was enough to fuel the vast majority of excitement over the possibility that he might win and have a strong chance to win Wimbledon. The buzz was a hope to catch a glimmer of his past brilliance on his favorite surface.

Halle, Germany - round 1 victory for Federer

At his second-round match, he squeezed out his first set against Felix Auger Aliassime (FAA).