Former world number 14 and Australian Open semi-finalist Kyle Edmund has signalled his return to competitive action by taking one of the wildcard spots in next week’s UK Pro League Finals in Nottingham.
Former British no.1 Edmund had been out of action for 18 months until playing a series of US tournaments in the summer, and is looking at opportunity to compete against some of Britain’s other top professionals as an ideal way to launch his campaign to climb the world rankings in 2023.
Other top British stars officially booked their spots in UK Pro League Finals Week after a thrilling seven weeks of action across the UK. They will descend on the Nottingham Tennis Centre next Monday (21st November) where the champion of the premier league of British of British tennis – will be crowned.
While George Loffhagen and Eliz Maloney won the Week 7 event at the Gosling Tennis Centre on Saturday, the 24-strong line-up for Finals Week was confirmed with Edmund being joined by a star-studded selection of wildcards including Charlie Broom and Giles Hussey in the men’s draw and Eden Silva, Freya Christie and Maia Lumsden in the women’s draw.
Two-time weekly winner Maloney, who beat Lauryn John-Baptiste 6-2, 6-3 in Saturday’s Week 7 final and therefore topped the women’s league table, said: “I’m very pleased and I’ve been playing well lately. What’s working for me at the moment is just focusing on what I’m doing on my end on the court and then hopefully, the results will come.”
Loffhagen however launched his bid for a Finals Week slot too late and missed out on qualification by just two points. Loffhagen, 21, won this, his maiden UK Pro League appearance with a brilliant 10-2 tie-break victory over reigning champion Matusevich said: “It was a pretty tough match – I felt like I played well in the first set and held my serve well, but I struggled in the second. It’s really good – it’s my first time I’ve played and it’s a really good experience that’s given me a lot of matches and confidence.”
Emma Raducanu, who shot to fame with a scintillating US Open triumph last year, was memorably crowned winner of the inaugural UK Pro League Finals Week in 2020 alongside Liam Broady in the men’s event. Sonay Kartal and Matusevich then followed in their footsteps by lifting the coveted Golden Pineapple Trophy in Shrewsbury last year.
Matusevich, who won this season’s Week 6 event last month, has qualified for the season climax once again alongside fellow men’s stars including Billy Harris, Luke Johnson and Dan Cox
After a stellar year of competition in the UK Pro League, the UKPL Finals Week starts on Monday 21st November and runs through to Finals Day on Sunday 27th November at the Nottingham Tennis Centre. Every shot will be broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKPL TV (UK Pro League TV – Home) with tickets available from just £5 a day. Tickets are available here: UK Pro League Finals Week 2022 – Events – Universe. Don’t miss out! Home – UK Pro League
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