on 30-09-2014 14:37

With just a week to go until the ranking cut-off date for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, the year-end Singles championship at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 26 – 30 November, Whiley, Reid and Andy Lapthorne are in line to qualify for both Masters events.

Whiley became the first British female player to win a Doubles Masters title in Mission Viejo last November after partnering Japan’s Yui Kamiji to victory before the duo went on to complete a calendar year Grand Slam of women’s Doubles titles this year.

The world’s top two ranked Doubles players will return to Southern California in an attempt to retain their title, with British No. 2 and three-time Doubles Masters finalist Lucy Shuker and British No. 3 Louise Hunt both set to team up with German partners. Shuker and Sabine Ellerbrock and Hunt and Katharina Kruger are also among the top four ranked combinations among the field of six teams that have qualified for the women’s doubles.

“When me and Yui won the Doubles Masters last year it was the first time that there was no Dutch player in the winning pairing,” said Whiley. ”After the incredible year we’ve had with the calendar Grand Slam it’s another exciting challenge to go back to California and try to become Doubles Masters champions again, and even better if we could have two Brits in the final this time.”

Reid became the second Brit to win a Doubles Masters men’s title in 2013 after partnering Stephane Houdet to victory. Reid partners another Frenchman, Michael Jeremiasz, this year and the combination have an impressive record of 16 wins and just two losses to date as a partnership after reaching the final of all five tournaments they have previously contested, winning three of them.

British No. 2 Marc McCarroll and British No. 3 David Phillipson will pair up together in the field of eight men’s partnerships at the Doubles Masters for the second time since 2010 after recently winning back-to-back men’s Doubles titles together in the USA and Canada.

There will also be an all-British combination in the field of four for the Quad Doubles as Jamie Burdekin and Lapthorne pair up to renew a partnership that took Great Britain to a second gold medal since 2009 in the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Quad event in the Netherlands in May this year. Burdekin and Lapthorne edged out American duo Nick Taylor and David Wagner in a championship tie-break in the deciding Doubles rubber of the World Team Cup final in May and the British duo will line-up alongside seven-time Doubles Masters champions Taylor and Wagner again.

Antony Cotterill, the third member of Great Britain’s gold medal-winning World Team Cup team, boosts the British challenge in Mission Viejo as he also pairs with American Greg Hasterok for the Quad Doubles.

"It’s been a memorable few weeks for British Wheelchair Tennis." Geraint Richards

“It’s been a memorable few weeks for British Wheelchair Tennis after Jordanne partnered Yui to complete their calendar year Grand Slam and Andy won his first Grand Slam singles title to become US Open Quad Singles champion at the start of the month,” said Geraint Richards, the Tennis Foundation’s Head of Disability Player Performance.

"It would be fantastic if we could come back from the USA this year with more titles to provide a further boost." Geraint Richards

“Therefore, to end September with the news that a record number of players on our programme have earned qualification for the Doubles Masters is extremely exciting. It would be fantastic if we could come back from the USA this year with more titles to provide a further boost ahead of the world’s best returning to Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters and I would encourage everyone to get their tickets now.”

Tickets for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters can be purchased via the tournament website: www.wheelchairtennismasters.com.