Sussex ace Ritchie Venner has been given a seeding boost ahead of the Sussex Open Grand Prix at Hastings this weekend.

He has been confirmed as the No.6 seed in the men's singles for the 66th running of the event. Earlier, it was thought Venner, a semi-finalist a fortnight ago at the Pengelly Memorial Open at Paignton, would be seeded eight.

Venner has an excellent chance of winning his first Sussex Open crown. He is capable, when playing at his best, of beating the top three seeds at Hastings. They are Welsh squad brothers Ryan and Stephen Jenkins and the Hungarian Gergley Urban.

The Crawley player's bogey among the seeds is Marco Essomba, holder of the Sussex title and winner against Venner in the semi finals at Paignton.

Rose Rainton (Bexhill), winner of the Sussex Open women's crown in 1998, will face stiff opposition this time.

Top seed is England champion Nicola Deaton, and Hungarian Barbara Kiss is seeded two.

Among the Sussex women's contingent will be Teresa Bennett, a former Sussex champion - and a favourable draw could take her into the final rounds.

Sheila King (Hastings) will also be hard to beat in the veterans' singles.

Nigel Eckersley (Uckfield), winner overall of the Grand Prix Veterans' title, is top seed in the veterans' mens singles.

The tournament has been crammed into 12 table spaces, some Grand Prix events have 24 tables. The event has attracted a maximum of 1,600 players. Fans can only use court-side chairs.