GORDON REID is among a host of leading British players and Grand Slam stars lining up for action on England’s south coast this week as the preparations for Wimbledon step up a gear.

The former Hermitage Academy pupil, his long-time doubles partner Alfie Hewett, and fellow Brits Andy Lapthorne and Lucy Shuker will all line up at the Rothesay International Eastbourne’s biggest wheelchair tennis tournament to date.

The wheelchair action starts in East Sussex on Thursday, and continues through until Saturday, with 11 current top 10-ranked players set to be in action across the men’s, women’s and quad singles events.

This year’s Rothesay International Eastbourne is the first of the LTA’s major grass court tournaments to feature men’s, women’s and quad wheelchair draws all at one venue.

Many of the players, Reid included, will go on to contest the Lexus British Open Roehampton next week (July 2-5) in the lead up to the wheelchair events at the All England Club, which run from July 9-14.

Twenty-time Grand Slam doubles champions Hewett and Reid, fresh from their latest major triumph in the French Open at Roland-Garros earlier this month, are among a star-studded entry as men’s wheelchair singles and doubles events make their debut in Eastbourne, with current world No.2 Hewett and world No.5 Reid joined by fellow Brits Ben Bartram and Dahnon Ward and Argentina’s world No.3 Gustavo Fernandez in the field of eight elite men’s players.

Fresh from playing Hewett in the final of an exhibition grass court event at the cinch Championships in London over the weekend, 2016 Wimbledon men’s singles champion Reid, said: “It’s a new-look grass season for us and it’s exciting.

“We’re straight into the action after a few days off on clay. It’ll be a great opportunity to be at Eastbourne.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a full ranking event there, which will be great. I was happy to get the minutes under the belt (at the cinch Championships) and I’m looking forward to next week now.”

While this week marks the first time that a men’s wheelchair draw has featured at the Eastbourne tournament, which has ITF2 status on the International Tennis Federation’s UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, women’s and quad wheelchair draws return to Eastbourne.

Three-time Paralympic medallist Shuker and British No.2 Abbie Breakwell will be among title contenders this year, alongside four top 10-ranked players headed by world No.3 Jiske Griffioen of the Netherlands.

British No.1 and world No.7 Lapthorne, the reigning Rothesay International Eastbourne quad singles champion, is one of four top 10 players entered for this year’s quad singles and doubles draws, alongside the world No.1 ranked Dutchman Sam Schroder, Australia’s world No.5 Heath Davidson and world No.6 Ahmet Kaplan of Turkey.

British No.2 Greg Slade, runner-up to Lapthorne in last year’s all-British quad singles final, is also among the field of eight players for the quad singles in Eastbourne this week.