Nottingham bids for tennis events

Nottingham is the running to host two major tennis events after losing a Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

This year saw the final Nottingham Open staged at the city's tennis centre after the Lawn Tennis Association moved the men's tournament to Eastbourne.

The city council is now in advanced talks to stage a Masters tennis event next year.

The council has also put forward a bid to host a women's event - the British Tennis Classic - from 2010 to 2012.

The council has promised to hold a "festival of tennis" around the women's event that would include coaching and events for children.

Councillor David Trimble said the city is reasonably confident it can win the right to host the tournaments.

"Tennis seems to be a southern-centric sport and if the Lawn Tennis Association really wants to get top-class British players it needs to move out into the towns and cities of the North," he added.

The city is aiming to hold a Decade of Sport that would include the World Twenty20 Tournament in 2009 and the Cricket World Cup in 2019.

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