on 06-10-2014 19:15

There should be plenty for the home crowd to cheer about in what’s expected to be an electric atmosphere at the elite year-end wheelchair tennis singles event. British stars Jordanne Whiley and Andy Lapthorne, as well as Scottish hero Gordon Reid, will lead the British charge in the 20-player event. 

Whiley made sporting history last month when she picked up her fourth Grand Slam women’s wheelchair doubles title of the season at the US Open. Birmingham-born Whiley had previously won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in 2014 with Japanese partner Yui Kamiji. With their victory in New York Whiley became the first Briton to win the same event at all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year.

Lapthorne - whose nickname is ‘Lapstar’ - also made it a memorable year for British wheelchair tennis when he won the quad singles title at the US Open. See below for details of the International Tennis Federation’s classification rules for wheelchair tennis.

"After reaching the last four of the NEC Masters on my debut last year I'm excited to see what the Masters holds for me this year.” Jordanne Whiley

“I hope that we’ll have lots of fans cheering us Brits on once again, just like we had at the Paralympics,” said Whiley. “I hope it will inspire me to another personal best performance. It will be so good to be back at the place where I won my bronze medal (with Lucy Shuker) in 2012. After reaching the last four of the NEC Masters on my debut last year I'm excited to see what the Masters holds for me this year.”

The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters is the sport’s most prestigious event outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments and is part of UK Sport’s Gold Event Series. Only the top eight ranked men’s and women’s singles players and the top four ranked quad singles players qualify to make the world class field of athletes. This is the third successive year that there has been at least one Briton in all three competitions at the Masters.

As well the British contingent there will be a host of international stars for the crowd to get behind at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, including Shingo Kunieda (a superstar in his native Japan); French wheelchair tennis No.2 Stephane Houdet and Maikel Scheffers of the Netherlands. The women’s field is equally strong and will include current World No.1 Kamiji and World No.2 Jiske Griffioen, from the Netherlands.

For more information about the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters go to: www.wheelchairtennismasters.com

Tickets for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters can also be purchased via telephone at 0871 220 0260 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras).