THE FIRST National Tennis Championship to be held at Bolton Arena has been hailed a roaring success by sports officials, players and spectators.

More than 2,000 spectators attended matches throughout last week culminating in the finals on Saturday which attracted 852 people.

The prestigious event has been held in Telford since 1983, until this year when Bolton Arena at Middlebrook won the bid to host it.

Arena staff now hope that the success of the event will lead to the Lawn Tennis Association allowing the championships to return to the town next year.

And they believe it could act as a forerunner to securing international fixtures, such as the Davis Cup.

Lawn Tennis Association representatives, whose headquarters are based at the arena, are thrilled the event ran smoothly.

They will soon hold a debriefing session to discuss the merits of the arena before making a decision on next year's host location.

Tournament director from the LTA, Peter Greatorex, said: "It has been a great week and the arena is an extremely exciting venue.

"All the players have stayed in hotels close by and have had a brilliant time with the bowling alley and cinema next door.

"There have been some logistical problems, but we ironed them out. The atmosphere has been good and we've seen some really interesting tennis."

Operations manager at the arena, Martin Eden, said: "This week has gone really well and the audience has got bigger each day.

"The staff have loved it as lots of them wanted to work here to have a chance to see matches.

"Having the championships here has made tennis more accessible and I've spoken to lots of people who have come this week having only ever watched tennis on TV and it's nice that so many families have made it a day out."

Former British number one tennis player Jo Durie said: "There is a good atmosphere here at Bolton. Facilities are first class. There are fitness places and hotel nearby. It is a wonderful arena."

Impressed

Hannah Collin, aged 19, who won the women's singles final, said: "It's a really good venue with a great crowd."

Spectators were impressed by the venue with most people saying they would return in the future.

Colin Cartwright from Over Hulton, aged 59, said: "It's an excellent venue with a good atmosphere. I'm not supporting any particular players today, just enjoying the tennis in general."

The Westwood family from Blackburn enjoyed their day as 12-year-old Cathy and her brother Robert, aged 12, are both big tennis fans.

Their father David Westwood said: "We have enjoyed it as a venue,

"The children both love playing tennis, so we wanted to see how it should be done properly."