Four reasons to be excited for the 2024 Lexus Surbiton Trophy
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The highlight of the tennis calendar is here, as the 2024 British grass court season gets underway at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy.
In case you weren’t excited enough already, here are four reasons why this year’s event is set to be one to watch...
The 2024 grass court season begins
The Lexus Surbiton Trophy has long marked the beginning of the British grass court swing. Held at the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, the combined ATP Challenger and W100 event will jump-start a highly-anticipated summer on the grass.
The tournament, which begins on Sunday 2 June with the qualifying stages, marks the start of a five-week long swing on British soil before the players move onto the Rothesay Open Nottingham the following week.
With some of the best up-and-coming British and international tennis players contesting the first trophy of the grass court season at one of the most historical tennis clubs in the country, the Lexus Surbiton Trophy is guaranteed to be an event you won't want to miss.
Find out everything you need to know about this year's tournament.
Next Gen stars will be ones to watch
With some of the legends of the game approaching the tail end of their careers, it’s time for the next generation of tennis talent to step into the spotlight. The Lexus Surbiton Trophy is renowned for providing the perfect stage for rising talent to shine on the grass and this year is no different.
The ATP Challenger event will see three of the game’s most promising next gen players take to the courts at Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club for the first time. Joao Fonseca, Alex Michelsen and Juncheng Shang are all currently ranked amongst the top six in the ATP’s Race to Jeddah and will be ones to watch over the week-long tournament.
Michelsen and Sheng made headlines back in January when they reached the round of 32 at the Australian Open and have since gone on to feature in some of the biggest events on the ATP circuit. Meanwhile, Fonseca enjoyed a breakthrough on home turf at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio, Brazil where he reached the quarter-final.
In the W100 draw, Brenda Fruhvirtova will be one to watch with the 17-year-old making headway on her first year competing regularly on the WTA tour. Earlier this year the Czech star came through three rounds of qualifying to reach the round of 64 in Melbourne where she eventually bowed out to champion Aryna Sabalenka. Since then, she’s skyrocketed to a career-high ranking of world No.89 and competed in three WTA 1000 events in Miami, Madrid and Rome.
ATP & WTA top 100 stars set to take to the grass in South West London
This year’s event in Surbiton will welcome a star-studded list of ATP and WTA players. Featuring one of the most competitive line-ups in recent years, 23 of the ATP and WTA top 100 will bid to take home crowns in South West London.
The men’s draw will be led by world No.68 Christopher O’Connell. Back in March, the Australian enjoyed a run to the round of 16 at the Miami Open, where he took out former world No.10 Frances Tiafoe in straight sets en route to the last 16. He’s also joined by the likes of Emil Ruusuvuori (world No.71), former Next Gen Finals champion Brandon Nakashima (world No.72) and 2022 Australian Open doubles champion Thanasi Kokkinakis (world No.94).
World No.49 Magdalena Frech headlines a strong women’s draw in Surbiton, with the Pole looking to leave her mark on the grass this year. Following closely behind her is world No.57 Lin Zhu, 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria (world No.65), and 2022 Lexus Surbiton Trophy winner Alison Van Uytvanck (world No.97).
With a star-studded line-up like this one, you won't want to miss out on a minute of the action.
Best of British talent on show
Amongst a host of international stars, Surbiton will also see some of the best home-grown talent return to British soil.
Dan Evans will spearhead a strong contingent of British wild cards set to contest the ATP Challenger 125 tournament. The 2019 champion will arrive at the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club gunning to get his grass court swing off to a winning start with a fourth Challenger title on the surface, while Billy Harris and Arthur Fery will also contest the crown.
Headlining the women's singles main draw is British No.2 Harriet Dart. Last year's grass court swing saw Dart play her part in creating WTA history when she became one of four British women to reach the quarter-final of a tour event at the Rothesay Open Nottingham. The world No.85 will arrive in Surbiton gunning to become the first British female champion in Surbiton since Louise Latimer in 2000.
She'll be joined in the main draw by British No.4 and 2023 semi-finalist Lily Miyazaki and wild card entrants Francesca Jones, Sonay Kartal, Katy Dunne and Sarah Beth Grey.
Don't want to miss out on the action? Buy your tickets to the 2024 Lexus Surbiton Trophy at the link below:
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