Vergeer (pictured above) is undefeated since January 2003, encompassing some 450 singles matches, and will be a heavy favourite to continue that form into London 2012 this summer.

If she wins, it will be Vergeer's 12th British Open title.

Compatriots Aniek van Koot, Jiske Griffioen and Marjolein Buis, the world's number two, three and five respectively, will also be in Nottingham.

British hopes will rest on Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley, who reached the final of Wimbledon last week.

"The British Open is always one of the highlights of the wheelchair tennis calendar and this year it's even more exciting as it's the last major tournament before the London 2012 Paralympics," Shuker said.

"We will all be after important ranking points to get a seeding at the Games and hopefully the British public will get behind us again and enjoy some world class tennis in Nottingham."

There is a strong line up for the men's competition too, with France's world number one Stéphane Houdet (pictured below) looking to build on his recent French Open triumph.


He will be challenged though by the world number two, Maikel Scheffers of the Netherlands, who won in Nottingham in 2010 and 2011.

Shingo Kunieda of Japan will hope for his fourth triumph at the event, while Gordon Reid and Marc McCarroll are aiming to win on home soil.

The quad competition sees world number one David Wagner of the United States compete with the likes of Israeli Noam Gershony and Britain's Andy Lapthorne.

Lapthorne, ranked fourth in the world, is wary of the importance of this tournament, the last before the Paralympic Games.

"For me, this is a big tournament," Lapthorne admitted.

"It's the last time I will be in action before the Paralympics so is the perfect opportunity to try out things I've been working on in training.

"I'm not hitting top form yet because I want to make sure I'm peaking at the right time.

"I'm certainly using the British Open as a very important part of my planning.

"If I can string a few good matches together then it will certainly help with my confidence going into the Paralympics."

However, his compatriot Peter Norfolk is not in action as the British number one is suffering from a back complaint.

The British Open is one of the six Super Series events on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

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