International Tennis Federation recognises success of Lexus Wrexham Open as 2026 event is launched

Pictured: The official launch for October's Lexus Wrexham Open tournament was held at Wrexham's Ramada Plaza hotel. Picture: Malcolm Couzens.

The success of the Lexus Wrexham Open has been recognised by the International Tennis Federation ahead of the tournament making a welcome return to the city in October. More than 130 guests, including many from the local business community, attended the official launch for the 2026 event, held earlier this week at Wrexham's Ramada Plaza hotel.

Guests were told how the impact of last year's first Lexus Wrexham Open, part of the ITF World Tennis Tour, had been rewarded by the ITF's Tournament Recognition Programme.

Richard Joyner, the Lexus Wrexham Open tournament director for the LTA, said: “A number of tournaments receive an ITF recognition award, which is based on feedback from the players and feedback from the ITF supervisor.

“It also covers other key areas such as the number of spectators attending during the week, the engagement of the local community, as well as the support of local businesses and the local government.

"It's very unusual for a tournament to get it in its first year. This is well sought after recognition by tournaments that have been established for many a year, so we are incredibly proud for the Lexus Wrexham Open to achieve it in year one.

“A star will now sit next to the tournament on the ITF calendar to show it has received a special recognition award. It's an added consideration for players when they are putting their schedule together, so it can only be positive.”

The second Lexus Wrexham Open - the biggest women's tennis tournament to be played in the UK this year, outside of the Lawn Tennis Association's grass court season - will take place on the indoor courts at Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre between October 18-25.

This week's launch event for the 2026 tournament, hosted by tournament promoter Dave Courteen, featured a number of guest speakers. “There was tremendous energy in the room,” said Dave. “Thank you to everyone who joined us, including the teams from Lanyon Bowdler and Ramada Plaza hotel, the joint sponsors of the launch. It was pleasing to see more people attending than when we launched last year's event for the first time.

“We are delighted to be bringing world-class tennis to North Wales again, with a host of new additional events introduced this time to run alongside the on-court action during what will be a very exciting week in October.

“It was nice to welcome a number of new businesses to the launch, keen to find out more about the tournament and the various sponsorship opportunities available.

“The 2026 event will be another important step in the journey of embedding the Lexus Wrexham Open into the local calendar, and we are really looking forward to it after such impressive attendance figures last year.”

Ian Jones, interim chief officer, economy and planning, for Wrexham Council, spoke to the audience about the importance of the Lexus Wrexham Open to the local business economy.

Sarah Bailey, chief executive of West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce, also stressed the significance of bringing prestigious international sporting events to the region. She added the tournament allows networking opportunities for the local business community to take place in a more social environment, as well as the chance to entertain clients and reward staff.

Laura Kenyon, head of digital and sport news at BBC Wales Sport, told guests at the launch that the BBC is looking forward to covering the Lexus Wrexham Open again. Outlining the event's appeal, Laura revealed last year's tournament, which was won by rising Welsh star Mimi Xu, attracted impressive viewing figures, with social media posts from the tournament via its various platforms also proving popular.

A capacity crowd of more than 600 spectators watched Mimi Xu, now the British number six, beat Mika Stojsavljevic in last October's final, the first time the event had been played in Wrexham after replacing the Lexus W100 Shrewsbury in the LTA Performance Competitions Calendar.