PAUL Jubb and Maia Lumsden have just been announced as the first two wildcards for the 2019 Ilkley Trophy, taking place at Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, starting on Monday and running until Sunday, June 23.

Hull-born Jubb was the first ever Brit to win the NCAA national singles championship in the United States last month and comes to Ilkley after mixed results during the last couple of weeks at the Surbiton Trophy and Nature Valley Open in Nottingham.

Currently ranked No 717 globally, this is the first year the 19 year old is competing on the Challenger tour.

Maia Lumsden, 21, is a familiar face on the Ilkley grass courts having played at the tournament last year.

Lumsden, who is Scottish, is currently playing at her highest ever ranking, No 280 in the world, and she will be hoping to continue to beat this next week from her wildcard that takes her directly into the main draw rather than qualifying.

Lumsden will be in the women’s draw for the Ilkley Trophy, which features nine players ranked between 50 and 100 in the world.

It includes No 53 Kristina Mladenovic (France), who is also No 4 in doubles, her compatriot and fellow France Fed Cup team member Pauline Parmentier (No 66), 2016 Ilkley champion Evgeniya Rodina (Russia), currently ranked No 70 in the world, 2017 champion Magdalena Rybarikova (No 74, Slovakia).

The 2018 Ilkley champion Tereza Smitkova (No 126, Czech Republic) will also be back to defend her title.

Jubb will be in the men's draw alongside top seed Ugo Humbert from France, who is currently 61st in the world, second seed Jordan Thompson (Australia), who is ranked No 69, and his Aussie compatriot, Alex Bolt, who was runner-up at Ilkley in 2017.

Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club general manager and Ilkley Trophy tournament director Charlie Maunder said: “It’s fantastic to see that we’ve attracted another strong list of players.

“There are more players in the top 100 coming to Ilkley this year than we’ve had in the last couple of years, which means that we know the standard of tennis will be incredibly high.

“It’s an outstanding opportunity to see these players. Packing all the action into just seven days, rather than nine as in previous years, means that every day will offer a packed programme of world-class elite tennis here in Yorkshire.

“Stretching from morning right through to sunset, whether visitors can make it for the whole day or just after work, matches will be on-going so there will always be some amazing tennis taking place.”

The winner of the $137,560 ATP Challenger Tour event could receive a wildcard into the men’s singles at Wimbledon.

The $100,000 Women’s ITF Futures Tournament runs alongside the men’s event.

The 2019 Trophy sees changes to the tournament, including a larger direct acceptance field, and organisers will be announcing further men's and women's wildcards in the coming days.