Birmingham Upgraded This Year With More Improvements Next Year

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 11th June 2013

Birmingham Upgraded This Year With More Improvements Next Year |

This week the revamped Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, upgraded to the tune of £12 million, is hosting the Aegon Classic. Next year the three decades old tournament will step up a level to become a WTA Premier 600 event with extra prize money and ranking points, meaning the grass court event can again lure some of the sport’s biggest names.

Until a few years ago Maria Sharapova made a regular stop at the Birmingham even although yesterday she was taking some time off playing and instead played the role of supporter to her boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov at the Aegon Championships at London’s Queen’s Club. Other previous winners include Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.

But things are looking up for the Birmingham tournament that seemed doomed to closure in 2009. Edgbaston Priory’s chief executive Rob Bray insisted the British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was determined to keep the event alive and pumped £5,000 of their funds towards the revamp that has seen a new centre court erected along with numerous other improvements.

“The requirements of tournaments have increased with players needing their own restaurants, changing facilities and press facilities – and world class courts – and we did not have that,” said Bray. “But the LTA wanted to keep it here… so we hatched a plan.”

This week the top two seeds are Kirsten Flipkens and Ekaterina Makarova with the main attractions being Britain’s own Laura Robson and Heather Watson. But Bray said: “It’s a new era here. I’m very proud. It’s been five years in the planning and two years to build and now we are here.

“We will get six or seven of the top 10 players here from next year and from a British point of view, it’s exciting times for the women’s game – with two in the top 40 this year. Hopefully we will get the Williams sisters and Victoria Azarenka here soon. We’re set for a good decade now.”