• The Aegon Ilkley Trophy returns to Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club from 17th – 25th June 2017
• Ilkley resident Moo Ping Vivienne Boey hosted Japanese professional tennis player, Mayo Hibi in her home for the duration of the 2016 tournament.
• Mayo Hibi is currently ranked 166 in the world and reached the semi-finals of last year’s tournament.
• Challenger tour level players at the start of their career often do not earn much in prize money and staying with local hosts like Moo Ping helps them to subsidise their tennis career.

Professional players and their coaches will once again descend on Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club this June for the AEGON Ilkley Trophy event. But whilst many of them will be setting up camp in local hotels and B&B’s for the week, many others will be opting to stay with local host families.

Moo Ping Vivienne Boey & her husband, Jolyon hosted Japan’s Mayo Hibi, 21 and her physio, Tomo for the duration of the tournament in their Ilkley home in 2016. Mayo, who lives and trains in California reached the semi-finals of last year’s tournament, falling to eventual victor Evgeniya Rodina of Russia.

Moo Ping is a regular volunteer at the Aegon Ilkley Trophy took the decision to host the Japanese player when the volunteer team were searching for accommodation for players. Moo Ping admits she was a little nervous about opening the doors of her home to a professional tennis player but the arrangement played out well and she and her husband are now avid followers of Mayo’s progress on the tour. ‘I was a little nervous as I had no idea what a pro player would eat or what their needs would be and I didn’t want to distract her but Mayo was very game to join in all the fun’, said Moo. It is not unusual for Challenger level players to stay with local host families, many preferring the home-from-home feel and opportunity to keep down the cost of sustaining their career as a travelling tennis professional.

Moo Ping was able to watch Mayo in action on the grass courts in Ilkley as she went about her volunteer role last year. During her stay Mayo was able to sample a local fish & chip shop as well as being invited to draw the raffle at a local garden party. Moo Ping welcomed Mayo with Japanese & English flags flying proudly outside of her Ilkley home and provided food, games and lifts to the tennis club. In a thank you note to Moo Ping, Mayo said ‘You made me feel just like home (or even better!). I have never had so much fun in housing and I will miss our daily desserts & games after dinner’.

For Moo Ping and her family, the experience of hosting a player during 2016’s Ilkley Aegon Trophy was so positive that she has agreed to play host again this year. As part of a 200 strong volunteer team, Moo Ping will once again play a crucial role in helping to make this year’s Ilkley Aegon Trophy bigger and better than ever.

For more information on the Aegon Ilkley Trophy visit: www.lta.org.uk/major-events . Tickets are still on-sale, priced from just £7.50.

- Ends –

For more information please contact:
Suzzi Garnett – Regional Tennis Services Assistant – [email protected] – 0208 487 7040

• The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) mission is to get more people playing tennis more often, and its role is to develop, promote and govern tennis in Britain.

• The LTA’s grass court major events series gives players the chance to compete on grass courts across the country ahead of the Championships, Wimbledon.

• The Aegon Ilkley Trophy runs from 17th to 25th June 2017 at Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club.

• Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club (ILTSC) is Yorkshire's leading tennis club. The Club not only has an 1,800-strong passionate and involved membership base as well as a thrilling tournament summer season, but also plays a significant role in the local community introducing tennis, fitness and squash to youngsters and adults helping them discover a passion for sport through a flourishing outreach program.

• With 12 tournament-standard grass courts, six all-weather courts and five indoor acrylic courts, the Club is well-equipped to stage world-class tennis in all weathers.

• The Aegon Ilkley Trophy is a Challenger level event which is the second highest tier of worldwide tennis competition behind the ATP & WTA World Tour. The ATP & the ITF women’s circuit administer the Challenger tour series and players who succeed on the tour will build their rankings and become eligible for main draw or qualifying entry into ATP & WTA world tour tournaments.

• The Aegon Ilkley Trophy operates a ladies and men’s 32 player singles qualifying draw followed by a 32 player singles main draw as well as a 16 ladies and men’s doubles draw. The men’s tournament offers a prize pool of $127,000 and the women’s $100,000.

• For more information on the LTA and British tennis, visit: www.lta.org.uk For more information on the Aegon Ilkley Trophy & tickets (prices from £7.50, on sale now) visit: www.lta.org.uk/major-events