The inaugural AEGON Pro-Series tournament, a men’s $15k and women’s $10k event, is taking place at Scotstoun in Glasgow this week.
In the men’s draw, a number of top British players are competing for the first title of the year with Richard Bloomfield heading the field.
Bloomfield, who is ranked No.298 in the world, will line up against Colin Fleming in the first round while other British top 10 players competing include Chris Eaton, Jamie Baker and Dan Evans.
On the women’s side, Naomi Broady will be the top ranked Brit while Jade Curtis and Natasha Khan have also gained direct entry into the main draw.
“The AEGON Pro-Series event in Glasgow will provide some of Britain’s best young players with the opportunity to compete on the international stage,” said Paul Annacone, Head Men’s Tennis Coach at the LTA.
“This will be the first event of 2009 for the majority of the players so it will be a great chance for them to get their season off to a winning start.”
Steve Clode, Marketing Director at Edinburgh-based long term savings company AEGON UK, added: “It’s brilliant to see such a strong field of players competing in the first AEGON Pro-Series tournament."
“As new lead partner of British Tennis our aim is to enable these young players to develop their talent and reach new levels of success in the future.”
Golding wins ITF title in Sweden
Oliver Golding claimed his first title on the junior ITF circuit at the weekend, winning the Grade 4 event in Vasteras, Sweden.
Currently at a career high No.330 in the ITF’s junior world rankings, Golding raced to victory without dropping a set, beating Swede Tobias Blomgren 7-5 6-4 in the final.
At Billesley Indoor Tennis Centre in Birmingham, Max Jones and Naomi Broady won the men’s and women’s titles at the first AEGON British Tour event of 2009. In Saturday’s finals, Jones beat Ken Skupski 3-6 6-3 6-2 while Broady beat Amy Sargeant 6-1 7-5.
* Photo: Richard Bloomfield (by James Jordan)