Watch highlights of the Centre Court Grand Opening at the Aegon Classic including opera singer Laura Wright, an exhibition mixed doubles match and the re-naming of the court to the Ann Jones Centre Court.

British tennis stars Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Heather Watson joined Aegon Classic contender Sorana Cirstea to christen the newly-named Ann Jones Centre Court at Edgbaston Priory Club on Sunday with a light-hearted doubles match which had the sell-out crowd enjoying every point.

Watson and Henman took on Rusedski and Cirstea, with a little bit of help from soprano Laura Wright, who had earlier sung five of her biggest hits as part of the day’s entertainment. Wright showed off her tennis skills for a few points while first Henman and then Rusedski took a breather.

Ann Jones herself played a big part in the celebrations of the new court by unveiling a name plaque and received warm applause from her local crowd.

Jones, who comes from nearby Kings Heath, won two French Open singles titles and was also a winner at Wimbledon. Since her glittering playing career ended, she has devoted her life to tennis through coaching, officiating, the media and her work at The Championships, Wimbledon. She was also a driving force behind bringing a world class WTA event to Birmingham in the 1980s.

“Ann was a brilliant player and she’s still massively involved in the game,” said Henman.

“She’s got good insight into the game, great experience and she’s obviously passionate about tennis. I think it’s very fitting that the court here is named after her.”

The Ann Jones Centre Court is part of a £12 million redevelopment, to which the LTA has contributed £5 million. This also includes the Indoor Tennis Centre, which was opened last year with the aim being to help grow the game locally.

“This is a great facility. There is great tradition at Edgbaston Priory Club with tennis in this area and hopefully people can really utilise it because we need that accessibility for the junior players,” said Henman. “We need more and more kids coming to play and this is what they need. Indoor courts, a good gym – they’ve got everything they need.”

Watson agreed, saying: “This will encourage more people to come because it’s such a great place and everything else, like the facilities, the new gym and the new buildings are, like, wow…”