Vicky Botwright Heads Inaugural 2006 Wolverhampton Open Women's Draw

England's highest ranked women's squash player Vicky Botwright, who recently led her country to success in the Women's World Team Championship, has been confirmed as the No1 seed for the 2006 Wolverhampton Open to be staged at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club from the 13th to 18th November.

The top seed from Manchester, who has enjoyed her most successful year on the Women's World Tour, culminating in her reaching a career high No.5 world ranking, will be competing in the Wolverhampton Open as part of her final preparations for the World Open Championship, to be staged in Belfast at the end of November.

Whilst England players occupy three of the top four seedings, with Laura-Jane Lengthorn and Dominique Lloyd-Walter seeded No.2 and No.4 respectively, the proximity of the inaugural Wolverhampton Open to the world's premier women's competition has also increased international interest and participation.

Shelley Kitchen, the World No.13 of New Zealand who helped Wolverhampton's premier tennis and squash club claim the 2005 English National League title, is seeded No.3, whilst her compatriot Jaclyn Hawkes is seeded No.5 - ahead of Rebecca Botwright, the younger sister of the top seed, and Orla Noom of the Netherlands.

England's Sarah Kippax - the 23-year-old from Chester who recently won her maiden World Tour title, the Pepsi Enschede Open in the eastern Netherlands city of Enschede - completes a high-quality list of seeded players.

"We are delighted that the inaugural Wolverhampton Open has such a strong draw," said Tournament Director Stephen Russell. "We look forward to the club showcasing some of the world's most exciting players and hopefully establishing a strong foundation for the event which can enable it to grow in future years."

The first Wolverhampton Open, promoted as part of a unique partnership between Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club and sports management company internationalSPORTgroup, will feature men's and women's professional competitions and will be the biggest club-based squash championships in the UK

The complete list of women seeds is: [1] Vicky Botwright (England), [2] Laura Lengthorn (England), [3] Shelley Kitchen (New Zealand), [4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (England), [5] Jaclyn Hawkes (New Zealand), [6] Rebecca Botwright (England), [7] Sarah Kippax (England), and [8] Orla Noom (England).