Sunderland Tennis Centre will play host to a new ITF Futures Wheelchair tennis event in 2014.
The 2014 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, the year-end championship for the world's leading singles players, heads Great Britain's largest number of world ranking events ever on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour after the full calendar was published this week by the International Tennis Federation.
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will host the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters from 2014-2016 and next year the prestigious event will be one of nine world ranking events held in Great Britain, which will cover the full range of tournament grades from Grand Slam to ITF Futures Series offering a wide variety of international competitive opportunities for British and overseas players.
The NEC Masters will be one of three tournaments in 2014 organised by the Tennis Foundation, along with July's British Open, one of six events on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour to have Super Series status, the highest tier of wheelchair tennis tournament outside of the Grand Slams. Nottingham Tennis Centre will once again host the British Open in July before the ITF 1 Series Nottingham Indoors returns there in November. The upcoming 2013 Nottingham Indoors (23-27 October) was promoted to ITF 1 Series this year for the first time.
The 2014 British tournaments will get underway with the ITF 3 Series North West Challenge at South Ribble Tennis Centre, Preston. The North West Challenge will be the first of two British-based tournaments taking place in successive weeks in February, as Bolton Arena hosts its first ever international wheelchair tennis event, the Arena Indoor ITF 2.
The ITF Futures Series Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament will have ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour status for the second year in a row in March, while another new addition to the calendar is the ITF Futures Sunderland Open in June. Elsewhere, the Cardiff Wheelchair Tennis Tournament retains its ITF Futures Series status in October.
Once again, one of the highlights of the summer will be the Wimbledon Wheelchair Doubles Event, in which new British women's No. 1 Jordanne Whiley was a finalist this year.
"Following on from the success of the London 2012 Paralympics the Tennis Foundation is very excited to be bringing world class wheelchair tennis back to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 2014 and the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters will be a fitting finale to what will be another landmark year for wheelchair tennis in Great Britain," said Geoff Newton, Executive Director of the Tennis Foundation.
"The Tennis Foundation is working hard to grow disability tennis at all levels from grass roots to elite performance and our major events are a key part of this so we hope the public continues to show their support by coming along to a venue near them to cheer on the players."