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.
First up is the North West Challenge at South Ribble Tennis Centre which takes place from 19-22 February and has an entry of 42 players from seven countries across Europe and Africa. Among this year's entries are British number 2 Marc McCarroll who represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
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. Upgraded from ITF 3 to ITF 2 Series status for 2013, the North East Tournament should again feature a similarly impressive line-up of players with London 2012 quad doubles silver medalist Lapthorne, Bejing 2008 quad doubles bronze medalist 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.