THE Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will hold four three-day British Tour events behind closed doors over consecutive weekends from July 3-26 at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

Each of these events will be open to 32 players — 16 men and 16 women — in a bid to provide safe and competitive opportunities for Britain’s best players returning to action amid the coronavirus pandemic.

LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “Since the coronavirus crisis, we have been working incredibly hard to support all our players, venues, coaches and officials through this very challenging time.

“I’m delighted to announce today the next stage of elite tennis’s return to competing safely behind closed doors as part of a five-phase plan co-ordinated by UK Sport with government.

“The LTA is actively engaged in developing the necessary guidelines for behind-closed-doors events, which we hope will be determined by the government in the coming weeks to ensure the safest environment for anyone involved in returning to competition and look forward to bringing tennis back into people’s lives this summer.”