CHAMPIONS from around the world will descend on Bolton next week for a prestigious international tennis tournament.

Five former champions, including ten-time Grand Slam champion Brit Jordanne Whiley and world No. 3 Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands, will be among more than 80 players from 22 countries in a star-studded field for the LTA’s 2019 Bolton Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament.

In addition to the world-class play, this year’s event sees the return of Bolton’s Junior Wheelchair Tournament taking place on Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24, with entries including six members of the GB Wheelchair Junior Futures Potential Programme.

Tournament director Claire McCulloch said: “This is the start of a vitally important season for international wheelchair tennis as players begin to think about qualification for the Tokyo Paralympics and that is reflected in the world class entry we have in Bolton.

“We are very excited to build on the success of last year’s inaugural Bolton Junior Wheelchair Tennis Tournament with many of the country’s top younger players joining us at the weekend.”

She added: “To have our world-class athletes play alongside stars of the future really helps to inspire upcoming talent and we would encourage all members of the public to come down to the arena and watch some world-class sport for free this week!”

The tournament takes place at USN Bolton Arena from Tuesday, 19 February to Saturday, 23 February.