Kent squash will be encouraging international stars of the future next week as The Mote Squash Club hosts the inaugural Kent Open tournament.

The event runs from June 1-6 and has attracted entries from 16 countries.

Kent’s Ben Ford, Steven London, Jonny Powell, Neil Baker and junior international James Evans (pictured) will be aiming to impress during the week-long world-ranking tournament.

Tournament director Alan Thatcher, the Kent SRA chairman, said: "We have attracted a truly international field with competitors from Egypt, Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Holland, plus a strong contingent representing England, Scotland and Ireland."

He added: "Egypt has dominated world squash at senior and junior level for several years but we want to provide world-class competition for our home-based players by staging tournaments like this, so that younger players can gain vital world ranking points and valuable prize money.

"England’s Nick Matthew has just taken over as world No.1 for the first time and I would like to think that the experience he gained in his younger days, playing in smaller tournaments like the Maidstone Open (which he won two years in a row) helped in some small way."

The Kent Open is a One Star tournament on the PSA World Tour and admission is free throughout the week.