With this year’s tournament at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre kicking off on Tuesday 1 August, Lapthorne has opened up about the relief of getting his hands on the trophy at last year's tournament, his current form and the must-watch stars of the 2023 Lexus British Open Wheelchair Championships .

Lapthorne had reached the final of the tournament five times previously but missed out on the silverware on all those occasions. However, last year proved to be sixth time lucky for the Brit after a straight set victory over Heath Davison in the final put an end to almost a decade worth of disappointment.

“We all want to win the British Open, it’s the home Super Series” Lapthorne said, reflecting on his milestone win last year. “I’d lost in the final five times before that, so it was becoming a bit of a mental thing.

“That run spanned over about 10 years, so it had been a long time coming and something that was really tough for me at times.

“To finally get over the line last year was very special and I’m really looking forward to getting out there, playing again and trying to defend the title."

The 32-year-old has already enjoyed a stellar first half of the season, having picked up three quad singles titles - including his most recent at the Rothesay International Eastbourne – as well as the quad doubles title at Roland Garros alongside Donald Ramphadi.

Now in his 18th year of his professional career, Lapthorne opened up about his growing confidence in his game and the necessary adjustments he has implemented to create longevity in his wheelchair tennis career.

“I’m feeling really good. We’re all getting older now - watching Andy (Murray), Jamie (Murray) and obviously myself and Gordon (Reid) have been around for a long time.

“It’s getting used to the fact that you are getting older, your game style and the way you do things needs to adapt a little bit, but I think this year I’ve done that better than the last couple of years which has given me a good chance in these tournaments.

“Trying to aim to peak at the bigger tournaments is becoming more of a thing and I think we’re seeing the results are coming now in the bigger tournament, so I’m definitely in a better place this year.”

The world No.8 will be joined by two of Britain’s most decorated wheelchair tennis players at this year's tournament, Alfie Hewett and Lucy Shuker, who will be gunning for the title in the men's wheelchair singles and women's wheelchair singles draws - as well as a host of international stars.

With such a strong line-up taking to the courts, who else should you focus your attention on at this year’s tournament?

“You’ve got the two Dutch guys Niels Vrink and Sam Schroder that are obviously doing amazing at the moment in the quad division - they’re really great players” Lapthorne added.

“Also, my doubles partner at Roland Garros Donand Ramphadi is a great player. He’s in some good form at the moment and he’s really good to watch so those are probably the three.”

Tickets are available now for every day of the event. Priced at £8 for adults and free for children, there are also week-long tickets available at £24 for adults and free for children.