Pupils from two Shropshire schools have received the exciting opportunity to form the ball crew at a leading international tennis tournament in the county.
Students from Wem’s Thomas Adams School and Adcote School in Little Ness have been busy training for their roles at The Shrewsbury Club's ITF World Tennis Tour event between October 15-22.
The group of more than 50 pupils, both boys and girls, will be on court at the Budgen W100 tournament, a high-profile event featuring top British and international tennis stars.
It is the biggest women's tennis tournament, outside of the grass court season, to be played in the UK this year, with Marketa Vondrousova, last year's W100 Shrewsbury winner, crowned Wimbledon champion just eight months later.
Simon Haddleton, the director of tennis at The Shrewsbury Club, has been helping the ball crew prepare for the event, which will be played on the indoor courts at the Sundorne Road venue.
He said: "We are delighted that both schools have agreed that their pupils can form the majority of the ball crew for this month's W100 Shrewsbury tournament.
"After the success and feedback from last year's event, we have now increased the number of children from both Adcote School and Thomas Adams School involved with this year's tournament.
"The pupils were absolutely superb last year and we look forward to working with them again this year.
"It's an exciting opportunity for them to be a huge part of one of the UK's largest international tennis tournaments.
“We also thank DMOS People for their generous support in providing uniforms for the ball crew during the tournament.”
Ticket prices for the W100 Shrewsbury event, 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 22 priced £19.50.
A tournament pass to watch all matches throughout the week from court-side stands is available for £59.
Tickets can be purchased via the tournament website at https://worldtennistourshrewsbury.com/tickets-and-events/#tickets
