International pro tennis returns to the Wirral Tennis & Leisure Centre from Sunday 14th February as the women are in town following a few years of the men’s tournament. Offering a fantastic opportunity to watch first-class tennis on your door stop for free, the tournament is back with a bang and showcases a number of extremely talented British youngsters on their way to the top.
The Aegon GB Pro-Series Wirral is an ITF Pro Circuit Women’s $10k event with a great blend of British and International players on the entry list. All the world’s top players have sharpened their pro careers at this level, and the three top seeds next week; Manon Arcangioli (FRA), Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) and Silvia Nijiric (CRO) are all possible future stars of the tour, at the young ages of 21, 17 and 22 respectively.
Leading the charge for the Brits is 16 year old Katie Swan from Bristol; a runner-up a the Australian Open juniors in 2015 at the age of just 15, this month Katie was selected by Judy Murray to be the youngest ever British Fed Cup player. She won her first two matches, before falling to the world No.160 Ekaterine Gorgodze from Georgia. Katie finished 2015 ranked No.3 in the world at under 18 level and is being tipped for big things in the professional game. Currently ranked close to her career-high ranking No.526, Katie has already won two tournaments at this level, presiding in Madrid and Sharm-el-Sheikh during 2015, her breakthrough year, in which she also won a round at Wimbledon qualifying. Tournament Director, Laura Ratcliffe, said ‘Katie potentially has a fantastic career in front of her and she’s riding a great wave at the moment following her selection for the Fed Cup. Anyone who can should get down to Wirral Tennis Centre next week to watch her make her way up the rankings.’
Alongside Katie, several other young British talents are taking part, including Harriet Dart from London, the highest ranked Brit in the main draw, and in the qualifying local girl Beth Askew, from Liverpool, and up and coming Scottish star 18 year old Maia Lumsden. Maia reached the final of last week’s Aegon GB Pro-Series $10,000 event in her home town of Glasgow, losing a tight final 6-4, 6-3 to Anna Zaja of Germany.
Laura Ratcliffe, Tournament Director, said ‘The LTA is really excited to be hosting another Aegon GB Pro Series event at the Wirral. After a number of successful years of the men’s event, it’s fantastic to bring a women’s tournament to the area particularly at such a thrilling time for women’s tennis in Britain; following Johanna Konta’s excellent run at the Australian Open, and Naomi Broady’s success in the USA meaning that we currently have 3 British women in the WTA top 100.’
Ratcliffe added “Entry for spectators in free throughout the week, with courtside seating for the singles final at 11.30am on Saturday 20th February. The whole event is a fantastic way to see many up and coming players; some of whom you might see on the lawns of Wimbledon a few years down the line!
The qualifying event takes place on Sunday 14th & Monday 15th February, with main draw starting Tuesday 16th and concluding Saturday 20th February.
Entry throughout the week is free to spectators, whilst you can follow the action through live scoring on the LTA website www.lta.org.uk/agbps
For more information please contact:
Laura Ratcliffe, Tournament Director on 07984 329 804 or laura.ratcliffe@lta.org.uk