ILKLEY Lawn Tennis & Squash Club stages its second most important tournament of the year (after the pre-Wimbledon Lexus Ilkley Trophy) next week - the LTA Lexus British Tour event.

The Tier Two tournament starts on Monday with two days of qualifying, with the main draw for both the men’s and women’s singles beginning on Wednesday.

Patrick Foley and Ellie Blackford are both returning to defend their titles, having triumphed last year in a rain-hit week where the final stages were played indoors over shortened sets.

Foley beat Leeds’ Jordan Reed-Thomas 4-2, 4-3 (5) in the men’s singles final, while Blackford defeated Sheffield’s Sarah Copley for the loss of just one game in the equivalent women’s match.

Patrick Foley is looking to retain his title at Ilkley next week.Patrick Foley is looking to retain his title at Ilkley next week. (Image: Bill Marshall.)

There is plenty of Yorkshire interest in both singles, including Ilkley’s Alice Brook, who reached the women’s second round last year, and Leeds’ Vassili Psaltopoulos, who was a men’s quarter-finalist.

Others from the Ilkley area to look out for are Tom Horsfall, who is seeded fourth in qualifying and is in action on Monday, Tom Horsley (who plays Joshua Ward at 10.30am), JB Pickard and Toby Shaw.

Representing the wider West Yorkshire area are Molly Robinson and Paul Johnson.

Referee David Kitchen is stepping up from running the Ilkley Open, which runs alongside the LTA British Tour events.

The Ilkley Open starts today, and includes junior, senior, handicapped and veterans’ events, and, like the British Tour, which will largely be played on grass, concludes next Saturday (August 3).

Prize money in the men’s and women’s singles in the British Tour next week is as follows: winners, £300; runners-up, £150, losing semi-finalists, £75.