Paralympic medallists Andy Lapthorne, Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley are set to be among strong entries for the first three British tournaments on the 2013 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour in February and March.
The first two world ranking events of the year in Britain have both been upgraded by the International Tennis Federation, with the North West Challenge having ITF 3 status for 2013.
Now in its seventh year on the NEC Tour, the North West Challenge at South Ribble Tennis Centre, which takes place from 19-22 February, has an entry of 42 players from seven countries across Europe and Africa. Among this year's entries are British No. 2 Marc McCarroll who represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
London 2012 women's doubles bronze medallist Jordanne Whiley and fellow Paralympian and British No. 3 Louise Hunt are set to face strong French opposition in the women's singles, with both Brits having previously won the North West Challenge title. World No. 1 ranked junior Alfie Hewett is also set to take on his more experienced peers in the men's singles. Adam Field and Antony Cotterill, who dominated the quad singles and doubles in 2012, are again among a strong quad entry this year, which has been boosted by the North West Challenge being the first tournament of 2013 to be preceded by an ITF Quad Classification Clinic.
"The North West Challenge was one of the first NEC Tour events I won and I've won it as a junior and as a senior. It's a great tournament, so I'm delighted it's been upgraded to ITF 3 Series status and I look forward to going back and trying to win it again this year," said Whiley.
To aid the transfer of players wanting to play back-to-back tournaments in Britain, the North East Wheelchair Tennis Tournament starts at Sunderland Tennis Centre from 25-29 February, just three days after the North West Challenge. Upgraded from ITF 3 to ITF 2 Series status for 2013, the North East Tournament should again feature a similarly impressive line-up of British players with London 2012 quad doubles silver medallist Lapthorne, Beijing 2008 quad doubles bronze medallist Jamie Burdekin and British Men's No. 1 Gordon Reid set to bring extra quality to the field when entries are finalised next week.
Reid won the third of his men's singles titles in Sunderland in 2012 while Lapthorne and Burdekin will both be aiming to add the tournament to their list of ITF 2 Series titles. They will provide stern opposition for Field and Cotterill, last year's finalists.
"After starting 2013 by winning an ITF 2 Series title in Adelaide in Australia it'll be nice to play my next ITF 2 Series in Britain, especially as the North East Tournament has been so successful for me in recent years," said Reid. "There are always some quality entries from home and abroad and with more ranking points available this year I'm sure it will be another great event with a strong entry."
New to the roster of British-based world ranking events in 2013 is the Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which has earned NEC Tour status after several years as a Tennis Foundation Wheelchair Tennis Development Series event.
Hosted by Graves Tennis Centre from 15–17 March, the ITF Futures Series Sheffield event entry is likely to feature McCarroll, Jewitt, Hewett, Whiley, Hunt, Field and Cotterill as well as upcoming players on the Tennis Foundation Performance Programme, such as Paul Stewart, who made his world top 100 debut in 2012 after starting his wheelchair tennis career at Development Series events.
All events are free to attend. Please email disabilitytennis@tennisfoundation.org.uk for further information.
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