Michael Way, a former Bermuda No?1, will return to the Island to make his first appearance in a tournament that was established to honour his late father, William Way.

The former Bermuda Davis Cup player will play in the open male and the 45 and over singles divisions of the William Way Memorial Tournament, which starts at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium on Thursday.

The tournament, which is the first big competition of the new season, was formed in 2012 to honour William Way, one of the most popular and well-respected presidents of the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association, who died in January 2009. Gill Butterfield, a BLTA vice-president, said that she was delighted Michael Way, still a competitive player, would be gracing the courts at this year’s tournament.

“The tournament has only been going for two years so this will be the first time Michael will have played as he is away in London,” Butterfield said. “It will be nice to have him involved and I expect he will win the 45-and-over competition.

“His father, William Way, ran tennis in Bermuda and was one of the best BLTA presidents we have had, Three of his children played Davis Cup or Federation Cup for Bermuda.

“His wife Margie runs masses of tournaments ­and has done for 40 years, so the Ways are one of the biggest tennis families on the Island.”

Butterfield said that all of the Island’s top male players would be competing for honours as they prepare for the Davis Cup Americas Zone group three tournament in Puerto Rico next month.

“We hope to have all of our major players available. Sadly we will be missing our best female player, Tyler Smith, as she is based overseas,” Butterfield said. “We’ve had around 50 entries and all of the Davis Cup players will be involved. The women’s draw isn’t quite as strong, however.”

David Lambert, a BLTA vice-president, said that Way was an ubiquitous figure on the Island’s tennis scene.

“Mr William Way was a founding member of the BLTA and the architect of a lot programmes such as the Winter League, which is in its 48th year,” Lambert said. “I was very fortunate during my terms in office to have Mr Way as one of my tutors.

“What I appreciated about him was the fact he didn’t allow you to make many mistakes. Many of our juniors who have gone on to acquire college scholarships have benefitted from many of the ideas and programmes that Mr Way helped structure.”

David Thomas and Erika Bove were crowned the male and female champions of last year’s tournament.

Thomas defeated Sam Butler in the men’s final, winning 6-0, 2-6, 7-5, while Bove beating Jacklyn Lambert 6-1, 6-2.

Thomas will join up with Gavin Manders, who won the inaugural William Way Memorial Tournament in 2012, Neal Towlson and Jenson Bascome for Bermuda’s Davis Cup campaign.

A fundraiser for this year’s Davis Cup will be held at Pomander Gate Tennis Club on Saturday night from 6pm, including dinner and a raffle.

For more details, visit www.blta.bm.