BOSS Open Underway: Stuttgart Kicks Off the Grass with a Stellar 250 Draw

The BOSS Open in Stuttgart raises the curtain on the grass-court season: from June 8 to 14, the Tennis Club Weissenhof hosts an ATP 250 that, on paper, has few rivals in its category. At the top of the draw is Alexander Zverev, the top favorite ahead of a field that also lines up Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik, Jiri Lehecka and Italy's own Flavio Cobolli.

Fritz arrives as the defending champion. A year ago he lifted the trophy by beating Zverev himself in the final 6-3, 7-6(0), his fifth consecutive win over the German. This time he is the number three seed, behind Shelton, and a rematch with the German remains one of the most anticipated clashes in the draw.

For Cobolli, the sixth seed, it confirms a 2026 in which he has cemented his place in the top 15. Grass remains the surface on which the Italian still needs to find consistency, and Stuttgart comes at the right moment to test himself before Wimbledon. Among the unseeded entries, the standout is Jakub Mensik, number 27 in the rankings: an awkward opponent for anyone who draws him in the first round.

On the wild card front: there's Nick Kyrgios, who continues his stop-start return to the tour and rediscovers a court — the fast, low German grass — where his tennis can still do damage. His presence, along with that of Fritz and Shelton, explains why the Stuttgart 250 is considered one of the richest of the season: a stopover event on the road to Wimbledon that, for a few days, feels like it weighs far more than its category.