David Wagner will be looking to hold onto his number one ranking at this week's tournament ©Getty Images

David Wagner of the United States and Britain’s Andy Lapthore, the two top ranking players in the world, are still in contention to end the year as quad singles’ world number one and the outcome could be decided at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Loughborough in the United Kingdom. 

Current world number one Wagner will be looking to cap off an excellent couple of weeks with a brace of masters titles following his UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters quad win with fellow American Nick Taylor in The Netherlands last Saturday (November 25).

Lapthorne will be looking to improve on his third-place finish in 2016, which could see him gain enough points to overtake Wagner at the top of the world rankings if the American has a poor tournament.

Any significant swing in either player’s favour at this stage of the season could be crucial, meaning both players need to hit the ground running when the tournament starts tomorrow at the Sport Loughborough Tennis Centre in Loughborough, United Kingdom. 

Hosted by the Tennis Foundation - Great Britain's leading charity for the sport - for the fourth successive year, the International Tennis Federation's season-ending event for the world's top players is due to be held in Loughborough for the first time.

The event had previously been held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. 

Japan's Yui Kamiji will be looking to add to her three Grand Slam titles this year by taking the title at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Loughborough ©Getty Images
Japan's Yui Kamiji will be looking to add to her three Grand Slam titles this year by taking the title at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Loughborough ©Getty Images

The men’s singles event will put four former champions against each other.

World number two Stephane Houdet, on the losing side in the Wheelchair Doubles Masters final last weekend, Sweden’s Stefan Olsson and Shingo Kunieda of Japan will be looking to wrestle back the title currently held by Belgian player Joachim Gerard.

Much like Wagner in the quad singles, the men’s doubles will see British pair Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett look to claim a second title in a week following their victory at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters.

Despite the recent retirement of the 2015 and 2016 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters champion Jiske Griffioen, the women’s singles draw is packed with talent as eight of the world’s top nine players are set to take part.

Japan’s Yui Kamiji, winner of three of this year’s women’s singles Grand Slam titles, and Wimbledon champion Aniek van Koot of The Netherlands are the favourites to take the title.

The men's and women's singles players will be drawn into two round-robin pools of four players whilst the quad singles players will be drawn into two round-robin pools of three players.

The top two in each pool will advance to the semi-finals before the final on Sunday (December 3).