There was a time when the U.K. National Championships seemed too quaint an idea to include on the tennis calendar. Tim Henman pulled out, an appetite for the competition was on the wane and – 18 years ago this year – the LTA pulled the plug.

With tennis having gone away for months and with little hope of Grand Slams on the ATP or WTA calendar this year, plans are afoot to bring back The National Championships, an event to celebrate the best U.K. talent in mens, womens, juniors and wheelchair players sections of the game.

With the initial plan to stage the championships this coming Autumn, any decision will be beholden to the Coronavirus restrictions in place at that time, but an indoor tournament with the necessary distancing and testing regulations to make the environment a safe one is the idea.

The prospect of a fit-again Andy Murray facing off against some of the young pretenders after his throne such as Dan Evans or Kyle Edmund is mouthwatering.