The Lexus W100 Shrewsbury tournament is on course to attract record crowds to The Shrewsbury Club this month.

Ticket sales are up on this stage last year as tennis fans eagerly look forward to the prestigious event returning to Shropshire.

A strong entry list has helped to further boost sales as the countdown continues to the tournament taking place between October 13-20.

Six of the players currently in the top 10 of the British women’s singles rankings - Sonay Kartal, Lily Miyazaki, Heather Watson, Amarni Banks, Jodie Burrage and Emily Appleton - have entered the event.

They join a host of international stars also heading to Shropshire, including Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who recently faced world number one Iga Swiatek in the bronze medal match at the Olympics following a brilliant run in Paris.

The Shrewsbury entry list also features Alycia Parks, ranked as high as 40 in the world last August, and Maria Timofeeva, who reached the last 16 of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Kristina Mladenovic, twice a Grand Slam singles quarter-finalist and a former top 10 ranked player, has also entered, along with two former Shrewsbury champions, Mona Barthel, the 2011 winner, who has a career high world ranking of 23, and Oceane Dodin, the only player to have won the Shrewsbury title twice.

Dave Courteen, the tournament promoter for the W100 Shrewsbury, said: “It’s the strongest entry list of players we have ever had here in Shrewsbury in terms of the overall rankings of players.

“There’s always the possibility that players may make late changes to their schedules, but we are now past the withdrawal deadline for the tournament so that’s much less likely to happen.

“There’s players that have very recently been in the world’s top 50, or had good runs in Grand Slams, and in the case of Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, she will be playing in Shrewsbury just eight weeks after playing in the bronze medal match in the Olympics on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros.

“Ticket sales are ahead of what they were at this stage last year, which is no surprise given the quality of the field. 

“We have increased the capacity of the stands in the DMOS People Arena to accommodate more spectators, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to The Shrewsbury Club for what will be a great week of world-class tennis.” 

The Lexus W100 Shrewsbury, which will be played on the indoor courts at the Sundorne Road venue, is the biggest women’s tennis tournament, outside of the grass court season, to be played in the UK this year.

It is the first time the event will be held since David Lloyd Clubs, Europe’s largest health, fitness and wellness group, recently acquired The Shrewsbury Club.

Ticket prices, which include a 40-page tournament programme, start from £7.50, with finals day tickets to enjoy both the singles and doubles finals on Sunday, October 20 priced £22.50.

Tournament passes to watch all matches throughout the week from court-side stands are available for £67.50.

Tickets can be purchased via the tournament website at https://worldtennistourshrewsbury.com/tickets-and-events/#tickets