Great Britain fields a strong squad to take on the USA in the 34th Maureen Connolly Trophy, which will be played from Thursday 17 June to Saturday 19 June at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne.
The 18-and-under competition between the two nations resumes for the first time since 2007 when it was played in Dallas, Texas, and has a rich history. It will run alongside the AEGON International joint ATP World Tour/Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament currently underway at Devonshire Park.
Laura Robson (16), Tara Moore (17), Lucy Brown (18) and Eleanor Dean (14) are in the Great Britain squad under joint GB captains Claire Curran and Iain Bates. “It’s a great opportunity for these players to have a series of high quality matches on grass against a strong American team in an event which has seen plenty of great tennis down the years,” said Bates.
“We are excited about the balance of our team, with players of different ages and we’re all looking forward to competing in a great spirit, in keeping with the tradition of previous Maureen Connolly matches.”
Sloane Stephens (17), Ester Goldfied (16), Monica Turewicz (17), Chanelle Van Nguyen (16) and Grace Min (16) are in the squad for the USA.
The USA currently leads the Maureen Connolly Trophy series 20-11. The event dates back to 1973, 20 years after Connolly completed the Grand Slam of all four major events in one season. The competition was started by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and Mrs Frank Jeffett.
The format of the competition is a two-day tie comprising eight singles and four doubles rubbers. All matches will be best of three sets with a tie-break in the final set.
There will be a vision opportunity with both teams today at Devonshire Park at 4.30 pm. If you would like to attend please meet at the LTA press desk in the media workroom at 4.20 pm.
Topics: 19 June, Aegon, Atp World Tour, Brinker, Chanelle, Claire Curran, Devonshire Park, Grand Slam, Great Spirit, Lucy Brown, Maureen Connolly, Rich History, Robson, Sloane, Sony Ericsson Wta Tour, Tara Moore, Tie Break, Trophy Series, Van Nguyen, Workroom