British No.6 Elena Baltacha has been awarded the final women's wild card into the Aegon International at Eastbourne, joining world No.14 Sam Stosur and British No.3 Johanna Konta in the main draw at the WTA Tour Premier event.
“The Aegon International is one of my favourite tournaments, I always look forward to playing there,” said former British No.1 Baltacha, a semi-finalist at the Nottingham Challenge this week.
“It's an honour to have been given the wild card and it's perfect because I'm still in at Nottingham so I couldn't have played qualifying at Eastbourne.”
At Nottingham this week Baltacha has recorded her first consecutive wins since being sidelined with a foot injury for 10 months following the London Olympics. “I'm really happy with my form at the moment so it's a great opportunity for me to give it a go in the main draw,” said the 29-year-old.
“My preparations for Wimbledon are going excellently and I'm happy with where I am in my comeback. This is my eighth tournament back and everything is beginning to come together. It's so nice to be back on grass and I'm hoping for a great draw.”
Anne Keothavong and Tara Moore will face off in an all-British clash on Centre Court on day 1 of qualifying at the Aegon International.
This first WTA Tour-level showdown for British No.4 Keothavong and No.5 Moore is scheduled fourth match on Centre Court on Family Day at the Aegon International, which sees free admission to Devonshire Park with show court seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Top seed in women's qualifying, Jamie Hampton of the USA takes wild card recipient and British No.9 Amanda Carreras of Oxfordshire third match on Centre Court at the Aegon International on Saturday.
British No.14 and qualifying wild card Lucy Brown faces world No.67 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada third on Court 1, their match followed by fellow wild card Emily Webley-Smith who faces No.2 seed Madison Keys of the USA. Meanwhile Anna Fitzpatrick, another qualifying wild card recipient and British No.17, takes on world No.199 Yuliya Beygelzimer of Ukraine third on Court 3.
Sixteen British men will contest Aegon International qualifying in Eastbourne with men's matches opening play on all courts at Devonshire Park on Family Day.
A tough assignment awaits British No.29 Luke Bambridge who faces qualifying top seed and world No.75 Guido Pella of Argentina second on Court One.
Meanwhile British No.9 Joshua Milton takes on former world No.4 James Blake second on Centre Court, and British No.12 Neil Pauffley faces qualifying No.2 seed Alex Bogomolov Jr, second on Court 2.
A bumper crowd is expected at Devonshire Park this year with the tournament staging a Family Day on Saturday June 15, with free entry to the grounds and unreserved seating on Centre Court and Court One.
Legends Day on Sunday June 16 will feature a quartet of tennis greats competing in a Father’s Day tussle, former British No.1 Greg Rusedski facing off against Mark Philippoussis in singles before teaming up with former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport and two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Rennae Stubbs in a mixed doubles match.