A MAJOR tennis tournament – which will feature British and international stars from this year’s Wimbledon Championships – will officially launch in Wrexham this month.
The Lexus Wrexham Open is the biggest women’s tennis tournament to be played in the UK this year, outside of the grass court season, and is being held in North Wales for the first time.
Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre will host the prestigious ITF World Tennis Tour tournament between October 19-26.
Leading players will compete at the Plas Coch Road venue, with spectators able to watch world-class tennis in a 600-seat capacity arena constructed around the main indoor show court.
The official launch event will be held at Wrexham’s Ramada Plaza hotel on Friday, April 11 (8-10am).
It will be an exciting opportunity for the local business community to find out more about the biggest tennis tournament ever held in North Wales and how they can be involved.
Guests will hear how the Lexus Wrexham Open is set to bring over £400,000 of business to the Wrexham area, a significant boost for the area’s economic growth.
The importance of the tournament in helping the development of British tennis players will also be discussed.
Speakers at the launch event include former professional player Mel South, ranked in the world’s top 100 during her career, and now a television tennis commentator.
She will be joined by Bethan Lewis, a director of Tennis Wales, and Kirsty Thomson, event manager at the Lawn Tennis Association, who will be sharing their views about the tournament.
Alwyn Jones, chief executive of Wrexham Council, and Ian Williams, deputy director of tourism development and events for Visit Wales, will also speak at the launch event.
Dave Courteen, event promoter for the Lexus Wrexham Open, said: “The tournament is going to be livestreamed to a global audience and is the largest women’s tennis event to be staged in Wales since the Rover Championships in Cardiff in 1996.
“Some of the players set to come to Wrexham will be ranked in the world’s top 100 and many of them will have played at Wimbledon just three months earlier.
“The whole week promises to be a real festival of tennis for Wrexham, and it will also feature a host of activities for the local community, including a range of hospitality events.”
He added: “We are hugely excited to be bringing this tournament to Wrexham and looking forward to the official launch on April 11, which will be a free to attend event, including a complimentary breakfast.
“It will provide people with a great insight about the tournament and why it has attracted the support of the Welsh Government and Wrexham Council.
“It’s fantastic that local businesses are so keen to be involved, with 18 sponsorship slots for the tournament already sold.
“We now look forward to talking to more businesses about how best to maximise opportunities to showcase all that is good about the area.”
To reserve a free place at the official launch of the Lexus Wrexham Open, please visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/world-tennis-tour-wrexham/t-eanpjnl
From Wimbledon to Wrexham – official launch to take place for top tennis tournament
