Britain’s top female tennis players have been given the opportunity to return to competition next month.
The Progress Tour Women’s Championships will be similar to Jamie Murray’s ‘Battle of the Brits’.
British number three Harriet Dart has agreed to play, but Johanna Konta, the world number 14, is not expected to take part.
The former top 100 player Naomi Broady has also signed up, along with 17-year-old Emma Raducanu.
The event will be held on outdoor courts at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in London from 14-18 July.
The 16 singles players will be split into two divisions, before competing in a round robin and knockout stage mirroring the format of London’s ATP Finals.
Eight doubles teams will also take part, and there will be a prize fund of at least £30,000.
The tournament is being run, with the support of the LTA, by the Progress Tour’s director Barry Fulcher. The Tour was set up in 2017 to give “aspiring British players more earning opportunity on home soil”.
With ATP and WTA events suspended until late July at the earliest, the list of domestic events is growing.
Jamie Murray’s tournament will feature his brother Andy, Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund, and also take place at the NTC from 23-28 June.
And then in July, the LTA will host and run a series of its own domestic events at the same venue. All of the tournaments will be played behind closed doors.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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