MULTIPLE Grand Slam champion and Wimbledon winner Jordanne Whiley is among the world class stars headlining the Wrexham Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament.

The venue is no stranger to international wheelchair tennis having hosted the British Futures competition for the past six years, but the new event, which starts on Thursday, will see Wrexham welcome the most high-class field ever assembled for a wheelchair tennis event in Wales.

A total of 72 players from 23 countries will feature in the draw, including a host of current and former world top 10 ranked players.

Whiley is among those as she plays her first ITF-sanctioned tournament since winning her fourth straight Wimbledon women’s doubles title in July 2017 and then giving birth to her first child in January 2018.

Two-time Paralympic bronze medallist Whiley, right, whose initial return to action following her maternity leave led to her fifth National Championships women’s singles title in December, said: “I’m super excited to get back on tour, I’ve been in training for four months now and I feel really confident in my game.

“The only thing I’m not looking forward to is leaving (baby son) Jackson. I’ve never played in Wrexham, either, so I’m looking forward to that, too.”

Former three-time national champion Lauren Jones, beaten to the title in Shrewsbury by Whiley, and two-time Paralympian Louise Hunt will lead the domestic challenge in the women’s singles, for which current world number Katharina Kruger of Germany is set to be top seed.

Also among the entries will be Donna Jansen, the women’s champion at the Futures event in Wrexham last October.

Players from the Netherlands, France, Chile and Australia head the entries for the men’s singles. They include Dutchman, Ruben Spaargaren, the current world number 16, and former number one, Laurent Giammartini.

Leading the British entry in the men’s singles will be Dermot Bailey, below, a former two-time men’s singles champion at the Wrexham Futures tournament.

A strong international entry is also assembled for the quad singles, with Canada’s Rob Shaw returning to the UK to try and defend ITF Three Series ranking points he won this time last year at the event’s previous home in Preston.

Ex-national champion James Shaw and Rio Paralympian Antony Cotterill head the Brit challenge for the quad singles.

Tournament director Kirsty Thompson, 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. It’s extremely exciting for Wrexham to be hosting two international tournaments and we are thrilled by the depth and quality of this year’s entry.

“Anyone who has yet to watch wheelchair tennis can expect an extremely high level of competition.”