It's a seminal moment' Queen's serves up women's tennis for first time in 52 years

It's a seminal moment

- Sean Ingle

Not since 1973, when Edward Heath was prime minister, Suzi Quatro topped the charts, and the first series of Are You Being Served? had just ended, has women's professional tennis graced the prestigious Queen's Club in London.

But after 52 years it will return with a bang on Monday, with 11 of the world's top 20 women among those battling it out in a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 500 event for a prize fund of $1.4m (£1m), a week before the annual men's event takes place.

Those playing include the Wimbledon champions Barbora Krejcikova and Elena Rybakina, the Australian Open champion Madison Keys, and Britain's own US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

The tournament also comes as British women's tennis is spreading its wings. When the latest world rankings come out on Monday, there will be three UK players - Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal - in the WTA top 50 for the first time since 1986.

No wonder, then, that the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) believes a revived Queen's women's event can be a catalyst for the game.