Paralympic wheelchair tennis hopeful Keith Thom is the star attraction at Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club this weekend.

The Scot broke into the United Kingdom’s top ten in March and is looking for ranking points in the JM Glendinning Group-backed tournament on Sunday to further his bid to compete in the Games in London later this year.

Thom is in form and last month played in the Edinburgh Wheelchair Tournament at Craiglockhart Tennis Centre, narrowly losing to the highly-ranked Peter Moore in a hard-fought repeat that was a repeat of their 2011 encounter.

The Scot won the first set 6-1 before finally going down 6-4 (10-6).

However, the Ilkley event will not be a shoo-in for Thom as in a strong field of players, there is also his doubles partner Steve Crompton, and they paired up to win in Edinburgh.

Ilkley referee Alan Cutts said: “We are very pleased to be able to host an LTA-sanctioned wheelchair event of this calibre at the club and are looking forward to seeing the players at the start of what will be an exciting Paralympic year of tennis for them.”

Andrew Holder, director of JM Glendinning (life + pensions) Ltd, said: “We are delighted to sponsor this event for the fifth year running and are expecting the standard of play and skill exhibited to be, once again, extremely high.

“The wheelchair event marks the start of a fantastic season of tennis in Ilkley and is followed by the men’s international event, county ladies’ matches and the Ilkley Open, which all take place in July and which we are once again proud to sponsor.”

For further information on the wheelchair, or other events, is available from Caroline Buncall on 01943- 607182.