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Dortmund Cancel Ticket Sales for Bayern Clash amid Rising COVID Cases

General view inside Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park stadium. (Reuters file photo)
General view inside Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park stadium. (Reuters file photo)
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Dortmund Cancel Ticket Sales for Bayern Clash amid Rising COVID Cases

General view inside Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park stadium. (Reuters file photo)
General view inside Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park stadium. (Reuters file photo)

Borussia Dortmund have canceled the sale of tickets for Saturday's marquee match against Bayern Munich due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in Germany, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday.

Germany, struggling to contain the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, reported the highest number of COVID-19 related deaths since mid-February on Wednesday (446), with the overall death toll rising to 101,790.

"Because of the current COVID-19 situation in Germany, Borussia Dortmund are canceling the advance ticket sale for the top of the table Bundesliga clash against Bayern Munich on Saturday," Dortmund said in a statement.

"Those who have purchased tickets will get their money back. All of the 67,000 tickets that were available... had already sold out a few days ago.

"However, the state government is currently expected to reduce game capacities within the next few days due to the pandemic."

On Tuesday, the premier of the eastern state of Saxony had said that Germany will decide on Thursday if all Bundesliga matches should be played in empty stadiums.

Earlier, the premier of the southern state of Bavaria had called for matches to go ahead without fans. He also said that if necessary, Bavaria - home to Bayern - would introduce a spectator ban if it was not implemented nationwide.

Clubs in Germany played in empty stadiums last year when matches resumed following a shutdown due to the pandemic.

Dortmund are second in the league on 30 points after 13 matches, one point behind leaders Bayern.

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Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff for Post-Match Comments After French Open 

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
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Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff for Post-Match Comments After French Open 

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 

Aryna Sabalenka says she has written to Coco Gauff to apologize for the “unprofessional” comments she made following her loss to her American rival in the final of the French Open.

Speaking to Eurosport Germany, the top-ranked Sabalenka said her remarks after her 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Gauff at Roland-Garros this month were a mistake. In her post-match press conference in Paris, Sabalenka had suggested that the result was more due to her own errors than to Gauff's performance.

“That was just completely unprofessional of me,” Sabalenka said. “I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then. You know, we all make mistakes. I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. But what I also want to say is that I wrote to Coco afterward — not immediately, but recently.”

Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the final with 70 unforced errors, compared to Gauff’s 30.

She said she wrote to Gauff to apologize and “make sure she knew she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her.”

“I never intended to attack her,” Sabalanka added. “I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I’m not necessarily grateful for what I did. It took me a while to go back and think about it, to approach it with open eyes, and to understand. I realized a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals?”

Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, also lost to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, where she also won the first set.

“I kept getting so emotional,” Sabalenka added. “So I learned a lot. Above all, one thing: I’m the one who always treats my opponents with great respect, whether I win or lose. Without that respect, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So it was a tough, but very valuable lesson for me.”