THERE was talk among tennis forums this summer, and even within llkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club itself, about the Ilkley Trophy being beefed up to join the ATP Tour (men) and the WTA Tour (women).

At the moment the tournament, held two weeks before Wimbledon, is a $125,000 ATP Challenger and a $100,000 ITF Women’s World Tour event.

However, there have been suggestions that the Ilkley Trophy, held this year for the sixth time, could become a $250,000 tournament on the ATP Tour and possibly a $125,000 event on the WTA Tour.

However, Ilkley Trophy tournament director Rik Smith is just happy for the popular grass-court tournament to re-establish itself after a two-year Pandemic-related absence.

The tournament was not held in 2020 and was moved to Nottingham last year due to the lack of a bio-secure bubble in Ilkley.

Smith, who is also chairman of hosting venue Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club, does not lack ambition for the tournament though.

He said: “At the moment, whether we have the event at this level or whether it is ever to become a higher level (ATP $250,000 and $125,000 WTA Tour for example) the event itself and the spectacle that we put on can become bigger and bigger regardless of the level of the tennis event.

“We will get a stronger field year in, year out just because of our reputation alone (witness the efforts of runner-up Jodie Burrage this year at Eastbourne for example), and now that we have re-established it we will see what happens.”

Smith added: “There are a lot of things to consider. If we tried to make it a bigger event does that fit in with the calendar of the ATP?

“It is not something that we are in control of, it is not something that the LTA are necessarily in control of, but at this level we still have scope to increase it as we are now and increase the stadia during the week.

“The WTA aspect is also beyond our control and the LTA’s, but the $100,000 event is the ITF’s (International Tennis Federation) prestige event, and there are only a few of them around the world so it is already prestigious.”

One thing that is in Ilkley’s favour is the friendly reputation that it has established since first being held in 2015, and it is already noted for being one of the most scenic events on the ATP Challenger Tour, as well as being held at the oldest venue (Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club was formed in 1880).

Smith said: “This tournament has created an atmosphere that is second to none, and that is partly what we are known for on tour - whether that be the players, the officials, the spectators.

“That is the feedback that we get and it is an incredibly friendly place, and that is reflected in how the tournament is run.”

The courts certainly played as well, if not better, than before, which is also a feather in Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club’s cap and is a tribute to former head groundsman Richard Lord, who died this spring, and his successor Will Rigg and his groundcrew.

Another decision that has borne fruit is the choice of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as the Ilkley Trophy’s official charity.

This was doubtless inspired by the fact that the YAA came to the club twice to help save the lives of club members Kevin Johnson and Kirill Horoshenkov three years ago.

Smith admitted: “The YAA have been great, and we would probably have looked to support them had we had an event in 2020.

“It is not something that we have done before having a tournament charity, but it is certainly something that we are going to do year in, year out.

“This year it seemed very appropriate. They have been to the club twice and assisted in saving the lives of two of club members in 2019, so it was an obvious choice as our official charity and it needs the donations to survive (it costs over £4m a year to keep their two air ambulances going), so we are ‘over the moon’ to support them.”