The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has confirmed that fan’s favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play at the Aegon Open Nottingham ATP event in June. Frenchman, Tsonga, has been ranked as high as No.5 in the world and has fantastic grass court pedigree being a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist and a runner up at the Aegon Championships in 2011. The 2008 Australian Open finalist has also enjoyed success at the Nottingham Tennis Centre in the past when he beat Andy Murray on route to claiming the Nottingham Challenger in 2004.

He will face a world class player field at the tournament including grass court specialist Feliciano Lopez and Great Britain’s Davis Cup hero James Ward as Nottingham welcomes back some of the best players as they prepare for The Championships, Wimbledon.

The Aegon Open Nottingham will see two tournaments take place in June, the women’s WTA event taking place from 6-14 June 2015, and the men’s ATP event being staged from 20-28 June 2015. Both tournaments will be an integral part of the new British grass court season, which in 2015 will see a three week window between Roland Garros and Wimbledon for the first time. The extended grass court season will enable some of the world’s elite players extra time to find their feet on grass and make the most of the very best grass-courts in the country.

Speaking on his announcement, Jo-Wilfried said: “I am really excited to play the Aegon Open Nottingham this summer. I have some great memories of playing at the Nottingham Tennis Centre where I won a title back in 2004. 

The grass court season is a very special time of year for me and one I always look forward to. The fans are really passionate about tennis and their support helps bring the best out of me. I hope to be spending a lot of time playing on grass this summer and the tournament in Nottingham will be ideal preparation for Wimbledon.”

 The Aegon Open Nottingham (ATP) Tournament Director, Paul Hutchins, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce such a world-class star of the game for the Aegon Open Nottingham. With an attractive personality and exciting style of play, Jo-Wilfried is a crowd pleaser in every sense and the fans will love watching him in action. Along with Feliciano Lopez we have two of the best grass court players in the world and I am excited for the tournament to begin.”

David Macmillan, Chief Marketing Officer at Aegon, said: “We are delighted that Jo-Wilfried will be attending the Aegon Open Nottingham this summer. He is one of the stars of tennis, a firm favourite of fans in Britain, and has a fantastic record on grass. Jo-Wilfried joins Britain’s James Ward and Feliciano Lopez, in what is shaping up to be a fantastic line-up.”

Tickets to the Aegon Open Nottingham are now on general sale. Tickets start from just £5.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/tennis