ALJAZ BEDENE is returning to play tennis for Slovenia despite having competed for Great Britain since 2015.

The 49th-ranked Bedene says he has notified the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that he will compete for his native country as of 2018.

Bedene’s decision was prompted by his desire to compete in the Davis Cup and the 2020 Olympics, which he could not do under the British flag after losing an appeal with the ITF.

The 28-year-old Bedene says that “at this stage in my career I don’t want to miss the opportunity to compete in the Davis Cup and the Olympics — two events that mean so much to me.”

Bedene, who received British citizenship in 2015 and has lived in England since 2008, was the country’s No 2 after Andy Murray.