Xu and co. ready to go as international tennis gets underway in North Wales at Lexus Wrexham Open

The ITF W100 event, the highest level of tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour, is the biggest women’s tennis tournament, outside of the grass-court season, to be played in the UK this year. It is a key event on the domestic LTA Performance Competitions Calendar attracting international players and providing opportunities for British players to earn ranking points and prize money on home soil.

The tournament has proved an important launch pad for both international and British players in recent years with Marketa Vondrousova claiming the title in 2022 before going on to be Wimbledon singles champion the following year, while Britain’s Sonay Kartal claimed the 2024 Shrewsbury title as part of her breakthrough year which has seen her rise to a career high of No.44 in 2025.

Reflecting on the importance of the tournament on her rankings rise, Kartal said: “Winning there propelled me into the top 100 and gave me the edge to start the year off in a much better position. It's super special the crowds are always amazing, you play tournaments like that and it gets you used to playing in front of bigger crowds, and it gives you a taste of what's to come.”

Main draw matches at the Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre get underway on Tuesday 21 October, with British talents including Amarni Banks, Lily Miyazaki, Mimi Xu and Mika Stojsavljevic in action. Qualifying for the event began on Sunday, with Britain's Indianna Spink among those to make it through to the main draw.

Indianna Spink in action in the first round of quaifying against France's Juliette Mazzoni at the 2025 Lexus Wrexham Open (James Baylis, Plus2 Media for LTA)

Over 1,500 spectators are expected throughout the week, many of whom will be keen to see Mimi Xu, from Swansea, who said, “I don’t remember the last time I played a tournament in Wales, so obviously it’s a nice feeling, I think Wrexham’s an amazing venue. I played Home Nations here, I did Welsh Championships here every other year when I was younger, so it’s got a lot of nostalgic memories to it." 

Live coverage will be available on BBC iPlayer (Wales), BBC Sport website and on the Tennis Channel.

Richard Joyner, tournament director for the LTA, said: "We are delighted to be bringing the event to Wrexham for the first time, particularly as this is the largest tennis event to be played in Wales for almost 30 years. Dave Courteen and his team do an amazing job putting on lots of activities throughout the week alongside the tennis. The local community, local businesses, local organisations are all fully behind the event and are very proud of having it on their doorstep.” 

A wide range of events will take place throughout next week alongside the world class tennis action, with the local community embracing the tournament coming to North Wales for the first time. Children aged 10 and under from across North Wales have been taking part in recent weeks in the Wrexham Mini Open, a fun competition organised by Tennis Wales.

Two youngsters from each of the participating clubs will receive the opportunity to play in the Wrexham Mini Open finals on Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre's main show court, surrounded by 800 stadium seats, ahead of semi-finals day for players competing in the Lexus Wrexham Open.