Tennis stars, including players ranked in the world’s top 100, will be swapping Wimbledon and Roland Garros to compete in a prestigious women’s tournament in Wrexham in October.

The newly launched Lexus Wrexham Open, held on the indoor courts at Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre, is the highest-level tennis tournament to be played in Wales for almost 30 years.

Stands to accommodate up to 800 spectators each day will be assembled ahead of an exciting festival of tennis for the region, which will also include a wide range of activities and hospitality events for the local community.

Dave Courteen, the tournament promoter, says: “It is a fantastic coup for Wrexham and for Wales to host an event of this stature, with the Lexus Wrexham Open part of the ITF World Tennis Tour and a high level W100 event.

“This tournament has replaced the Lexus W100 Shrewsbury in the LTA Performance Competitions Calendar for 2025, and we are delighted that world class tennis is coming to North Wales for the first time.

“For context, Wrexham is one of only 30 cities in the world to be staging an ITF event of this level this year.

“It will actually be the highest-level tournament played in Wales since the Rover British Clay Court Championships in Cardiff in 1996.

“Bringing this event to Wrexham for the first time has created a new energy, with the support from the Welsh Government, Tennis Wales and Wrexham Council first class.

“We are so looking forward to creating a new home and identity for the tournament at a venue which has recently been impressively refurbished as the countdown continues to October.”

The response from tennis fans has been very encouraging since tickets for the event – the biggest women’s tennis tournament in the UK this year, outside of the grass court season – went on sale at the start of June.

Leading British and international players will head to Wrexham, with the likes of Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Heather Watson and Harriet Dart just some of the many Brits to play in the W100 Shrewsbury, the precursor to October’s tournament.

The player entry list for Wrexham will not be known until nearer the time, but it will feature rising stars alongside more established names striving to secure valuable ranking points and prize money.

It is hoped that Welsh teenager Mimi Xu, who has impressively climbed the world rankings this year, will be among the players competing.

“It would be wonderful to have Mimi playing in Wrexham,” reflects Dave. “She would be extremely popular with the local fans.

“We saw what Mimi is capable of at last year’s W100 Shrewsbury when she won the doubles title and also reached the last eight in singles. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that she will be in action in Wrexham.”

The tennis spotlight will be firmly on North Wales during the tournament, which runs between October 19-26, with the event to be livestreamed to a global audience.

“Such is the wonderful unpredictability of tennis, you never know just who will be making the headlines in Wrexham,” adds Dave.

“The biggest story when this event was previously held in Shrewsbury came when Marketa Vondrousova was crowned Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion just eight months after winning in Shrewsbury.

“That underlines the quality of the players an event of the level of the Lexus Wrexham Open attracts.

“There’s lots more exciting planning between now and October to make it a brilliant tournament enjoyed by people of all ages.”

For more information about the Lexus Wrexham Open, including how to buy tickets, visit www.wrexhamopentennis.com