Boulter on board for The Progress Tour Women’s Championships
British tennis star Katie Boulter has joined Fed Cup team-mate Harriet Dart in the line-up for next month’s Progress Tour Women’s Championships, due to be held at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in London from 14 - 18 July.
The Progress Tour Women’s Championships will mark the return of British women’s tennis and will see Boulter and Dart playing alongside Manchester’s Naomi Broady, British No.4 Samantha Murray, talented youngster Emma Raducanu and others. Entries closed Tuesday 16 June but three wild-cards across the singles and doubles events allow for last-minute additions to the singles and doubles fields.
The global COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the LTA’s scheduled grass court 2020 WTA events, the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham, Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham, Nature Valley International in Eastbourne as well as the Championships, Wimbledon. The Progress Tour Women's Championships will give British players their first chance to compete on home soil.
“It’s great to be part of the return of British women’s tennis and I can’t wait to get back on court myself and compete,” said Katie Boulter.
The Progress Tour Women’s Championships, which boasts a prize money pool of £30,000, is the result of a collaboration between WTA-ranked British players Olivia Nicholls and Alicia Barnett, long-term women’s tennis supporter Terry Oakes, and former ATP ranked player and now tournament director of The Progress Tour, Barry Fulcher. It is an independent tournament hosted and supported by the LTA. It is one of a number of domestic events being at the National Tennis Centre to mark the return of professional tennis in Britain, including British Tour tournaments and other independent events such as Jamie Murray’s Battle of the Brits.
The Progress Tour Women's Championships - Entry Lists
Singles
*Katie Boulter - (Protected WTA 85) WTA 374
Harriet Dart - WTA 146
Samantha Murray Sharan - WTA 180
Jodie Burrage - WTA 289
Francesca Jones - WTA 322
Emma Raducanu - WTA 338
Maia Lumsden - WTA 368
Eden Silva - WTA 486
Naomi Broady - WTA 499
Alicia Barnett - WTA 569
Sarah Beth Grey - WTA 607
Freya Christie - WTA 643
Emily Appleton - WTA 675
Alice Gillan - WTA 797
Doubles
Naomi Broady & Samantha Murray Sharan
Sarah Beth Grey & Eden Silva
Jodie Burrage & Freya Christie
Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls
Emily Arbuthnot & Anna Popescu
Emily Appleton & Ali Collins
Soumaya Anane & Tiffany William
Plus 3 Wild Cards across singles and doubles events
The Format
The Progress Tour Women’s Championships will take place over five days in a round robin format, similar to the World Tour Finals, with 16 singles players split into two tiers - Premier event & Division 1 - before battling through to the knockout semi-final stage
Eight teams will compete in the Premier doubles competition.
Elite sport - return to domestic competition
The Progress Tour is working closely with the LTA on tournament preparations which, like all the tournaments being hosted at the National Tennis Centre, will be subject to Government guidelines as set out under a stage three return to ‘behind-closed-doors’ elite sporting events. The national governing body is part of a UK Sport working group advising the Government on the development of the guidelines.
Tournament website:
https://www.theprogresstour.com/event-info/the-progress-tour-womens-championships
Further Information:
Media Enquiries: media@theemiliagroup.com or call Faye Andrews on 07788 921066 or Eleanor Preston on 07967 562040.
Media Release distributed by The Emilia Group on behalf of The Progress Tour