Former finalist Freya Christie handed a wild card for The Shrewsbury Club tournament

Former finalist Freya Christie handed a wild card for The Shrewsbury Club tournament.

Former finalist Freya Christie is one of four British players to be given wild cards to the main draw of the Aegon GB Pro-Series tournament, which gets under way at The Shrewsbury Club this weekend.

Christie, 19, from Nottinghamshire, will have fond memories of The Shrewsbury Club having enjoyed an excellent run to the 2015 final before eventually losing to rising French star Oceane Dodin in front of a big crowd.

Fellow Brits Samantha Murray, Eden Silva and Maia Lumsden have also received wild cards for the $25,000 International Tennis Federation event, held in association with local company Morris & Co Homes.

Murray, 30, from Stockport, enjoyed a career-high world ranking of 165 in 2013 before a long-term injury. She won a $15,000 ITF tournament at Wirral last week, beating Silva, 21, from London, in straight sets in the final.

Lumsden, 19, from Glasgow, won a similar ITF event at the same venue in February.
The quartet handed wild cards will feature in the main draw which will take place during a civic reception at The Shrewsbury Club on Monday night, with the first round matches getting under way on Tuesday morning.

Qualifying on the indoor courts starts on Sunday morning and will continue on Monday. 
Admission for spectators is free throughout the tournament, including the singles final on Saturday, November 11.

The event features a host of rising stars from across Europe with aspirations to follow in the footsteps of the many players to have played at Shrewsbury in the past and are now flying high in the world rankings.  

Pictured: Freya Christie in action during her last visit to The Shrewsbury Club when she reached the final of the 2015 tournament. Picture by Richard Dawson.