​Bath-based ace  Sidhartha Hazarika has been invited to compete in the prestigious AEGON Winter Grand Prix Masters by the Lawn Tennis Association following an impressive run of form at national level competitions over the last few months. 

The invitation-only tournament takes place at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London from Friday until Sunday and showcases the talent of some of the best young players in the country.

Hazarika, 16, trains at the University of Bath’s International High Performance Centre and is part of the AEGON FutureStars programme. He will compete in the 18 and under category and  is one of only 16  players to be invited, having earned his place by accumulating enough ranking points from LTA tournaments throughout the winter.

The overall winner will not only pick up the coveted AEGON Winter Masters trophy but will also receive a wildcard entry to an AEGON Pro Series tournament, which is seen as the first step on the professional ladder.

Steven Martens, player director of the LTA, said: “The AEGON Winter Grand Prix Masters offers some of the best juniors in the country the opportunity to compete at the highest level. We expect standards to be really high as the quality of junior tennis in Britain continues to improve.

“It was positive to see that a number of the AEGON Future Stars have made the transition to Team AEGON demonstrating that we are making definite strides at this level.”

LTA chief executive Roger Draper said: “British Tennis is committed to creating and improving competitive opportunities for players of all ages and abilities and the AEGON Winter Grand Prix Masters is a great example of this.

“Since 2006 there has been a 300 per cent increase in the number of young people who play six or more tournaments a year, but this is a figure British Tennis is driving to increase yet further in order to create more winners.”