Jordanne Whiley’s back on court for her first big event of year

The 28-year-old, from Halesowen, is competing alongside other grand slam champions and Paralympic medallists in the inaugural Loughborough Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which runs until Saturday at the Loughborough University Tennis Centre.

And after a long break from top-level action, including missing the Australian Open last month, Whiley is grateful to be part of a field featuring seven of the world’s top 20 players.

“I’m excited because I haven’t played an international event since October,” she said. “I’ve not been able to do as much training as normal, but I’ve been hitting well and feel like I’m in a good place.

“I’m really glad the LTA have been able to put Loughborough on, as otherwise my next tournament probably wouldn’t be until the end of May.”

Whiley – the world No.4 – is seeded second in Loughborough, with Dutch world No.3 Aniek van Koot the top seed for the tournament and fellow Brit Lucy Shuker seeded fourth.

The Brit is in a tough half of the draw, along with American third seed Dana Mathewson and Jiske Griffioen – the unseeded four-time Grand Slam singles champion who could be waiting in the third round.

“I expect to win, but there are plenty of good players, such as Aniek, Dana and Jiske, so I think it will be a really good level of competition,” said Whiley, who received a bye through the opening round and opens her campaign against Dane Louise Willerslev-Olsen today.

The tournament in Loughborough is just the second event on the International Tennis Federation’s UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour to be held in Europe in 2021.

Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett – the winners of the gold and silver medallists at the 2016 Paralympics head the list of entries on the men’s side.

n Andy Murray has been dealt another injury blow with a groin problem prompting him to withdraw from the Miami Open.

The former world number one was set to play South African Lloyd Harris in the first round of the Masters 1000 tournament, which begins today.

Murray is hoping the injury will not keep him off court for long and revealed he developed pain in his groin while sleeping on Friday night.

The 33-year-old told the Miami Herald: “I had no issues while training, felt fine, did some gym work Friday, no problem, and then I woke up about 3am, felt pain in the groin – not on the side I had my surgery – and when I got out of bed I struggled quite a bit to walk.”

Murray continued: “I have no idea what I did. It’s one of those freak things. Each day it has gotten progressively better, but it’s not enough. I have not practised since Friday.

“I am really gutted. This is a place I have done so much training over the years. It’s like my second home. Last time I played here was 2016 and so much has happened.

“Last year, the day before I was supposed to travel here Covid stopped the tennis tour. Miami’s been a place that has given me a lot, but this just wasn’t meant to be.”