AN array of top wheelchair tennis players are gracing the courts at Bolton Arena as it hosts the Lawn Tennis Association’s first two international wheelchair tennis tournaments of the year.

February has traditionally featured the first two British tournaments on the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, and Bolton Arena is hosting an ITF 2 tournament for the first time since 2014.

And because the 2021 tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the venue is also hosting the Bolton Indoor tournament, which will precede the ITF 2 event.

Players from 22 countries will line up to contest the two tournaments, including British women's number one and three-time Paralympic medallist Lucy Shuker.

LTA Tournament director Kirsty Thomson said: “We are delighted to be bringing international wheelchair tennis back to Bolton Arena and we are very pleased with the quality and depth of the entry in a year following a Paralympics.

“To have back-to-back tournaments at the same venue ensures we can showcase some of the best players in the world, while also providing opportunities for players aspiring to reach the top, including Britain’s leading juniors.”

USA’s world number eight Dana Mathewson and China’s world number nine Zenzhen Zhu are also taking part along with two-time Bolton Indoor champion and world number three Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands,

Her compatriot and Tokyo 2020 men’s singles silver medallist Tom Egberink tops the men’s entry for the ITF 2, with fellow Dutchman Ruben Spaargaren heading a selection of world top 25 ranked men’s players in this weekend’s ITF 3 tournament.

British number three Dermot Bailey will lead the home entry for the men’s singles at both tournaments alongside 16-year-olds Ben Bartram and Dahnon Ward.

Ben and Dahon recently returned from wheelchair tennis’s Junior Masters in France as winner and runner-up in the boys’ singles and winners of the boys’ doubles at the premier annual wheelchair tennis tournament for players aged 18 and under.

British number one and 15-time grand slam champion Andy Lapthorne will bid for his third Bolton Indoor title in the quad singles, for players who have an impairment in three or more limbs.