The Indian women’s tennis team will start its Billie Jean King Cup 2024 Asia-Oceania Group I campaign at the Moon Island Clay Park in Changsha, the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday.
The Asia-Oceania Group I for 2024 features six teams – India, hosts China, Chinese Taipei, Pacific Oceania, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. The format of the tournament will see all the teams play in a round-robin format.
Each tie is a best-of-three affair consisting of two singles and one doubles match. After all ties are over, the top two teams will gain promotion to the play-offs, to be played later this year, while the bottom two teams will be relegated to the Asia/Oceania Group II in 2025.
Last year, India narrowly avoided a drop to Asia/Oceania Group II after finishing fourth.
India last made the play-offs in 2021 but a 3-1 defeat to Latvia in Jurmala ended their hopes of reaching the competition’s qualifiers and playing for a place at the Billie Jean King Cup finals.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has named a five-member Indian tennis team for the Billie Jean King Cup 2024 Asia-Oceania Group I campaign.
Ankita Raina, the top-ranked Indian women’s singles tennis player at world No. 255, will spearhead the team in China. Youngsters Sahaja Yamalapalli (rank 311), Shrivalli Bhamidipaty (rank 427), Asian Games mixed doubles champion Rutuja Bhosale (rank 379) and Prarthana Thombare, who is India’s best-ranked doubles player at world No. 154, are the other members of the squad.
Vaidehi Chaudhari, world No. 543 in singles, has been selected as the reserve player while former Indian tennis player Shalini Thakur Chawla will be the captain of the side.
The Billie Jean King Cup, formerly known as the Fed Cup, is one of the most prestigious international tennis events for women. It brings together top-ranked players from different countries to compete in a team format. The tournament is the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup.
Squad: Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Rutuja Bhosale and Prarthana Thombare
Reserve player: Vaidehi Chaudhari
Captain: Shalini Thakur Chawla
Coach: Radhika Kanitkar
