Finalist Amarni Banks is one of four Brits given a wildcard for Shrewsbury event

Jodie Burrage, Hannah Klugman and Mingge Xu have also been given wild cards for the prestigious ITF World Tennis Tour event.

The first qualifying round for the biggest women’s tennis tournament, outside of the grass court season, to be played in the UK this year, takes place on Sunday, with main draw matches getting under way next Tuesday.

Banks, the British number eight, enjoyed an excellent run in Shrewsbury last year. She beat a number of higher-ranked players before eventually losing in the final to Viktorija Golubic.

Burrage, who was ranked as high as 85 in the world last September, has recently returned from injury.

Klugman hit the headlines in Shrewsbury last year when, at the age of 14, she became the youngest player to qualify for a W100 tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour, beating the record set by former US Open champion Coco Gauff. Klugman went on to reach the quarter-finals.

Xu, who turned 17 earlier this month, is another promising British player and impressively progressed to the semi-finals of the US Open girls’ singles in New York last month. She also played in this year’s girls’ doubles final at Wimbledon.

The four wild cards join two more British players – Sonay Kartal and Heather Watson – in the main draw of the Lexus W100 Shrewsbury.

Kartal has good memories of playing on the indoor courts at the Sundorne Road venue, having won the UK Pro League in Shrewsbury in 2021 and she also played in the W100 the following year.

Looking forward to returning, Kartal, speaking to the LTA, said: “Shrewsbury for me is the tournament that sticks in my head quite a lot. I’ve played a lot of tournaments and it’s one that I definitely remember playing from 2022. It’s the tournament where I really kick-started into the professional scene so for me, I have pretty vivid memories from when I started on the professional tour.

“The team there run it so well for players and spectators and really make it a big event. They go above and beyond to put on fun things for everyone and I think it’s super exciting for us British players. It’s not often we get to compete on British soil, so we’re all looking forward to it.”

Watson, a regular member of Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team, was a Shrewsbury finalist in 2011, beaten by German player Mona Barthel, who also returns to The Shrewsbury Club to play in this year’s event.

A strong entry of international stars is heading to Shropshire, led by three players in the world’s top 100.

Nuria Parrizas-Diaz from Spain and Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands are ranked 81 and 82 respectively, with French player Oceane Dodin, twice a Shrewsbury champion earlier in her career, currently 91 in the world.

Kartal is set to be seeded four, with Slovakian player Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who recently faced world number one Iga Swiatek in the bronze medal match at the Olympics, seeded five.

Schmiedlova said: “I am looking forward to coming to Shrewsbury next week. I am curious because I have only ever played grass court tournaments in the summer in the UK and never an indoor tournament there.

“I always enjoy nature and exploring cities in the UK and Shrewsbury will be a new experience. This year I played in the semi-finals at the Olympics and that was the biggest success of my career, so I have many great memories from the 2024 season. I hope I will play a few more good matches between now and the end of the year.”

Ticket prices, which include a 40-page tournament programme, start from £7.50, with finals day tickets to enjoy both the singles and doubles finals on Sunday, October 20 priced £22.50.

Tournament passes to watch all matches throughout the week from court-side stands are available for £67.50.

Tickets can be purchased via the tournament website at https://worldtennistourshrewsbury.com/tickets-and-events/#tickets