Bahrain to host Fed Cup event next year

Bahrain will host the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II event of the 2018 Fed Cup, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced recently.

The Philippines is among 16 countries competing in the Asia/ Oceania Zone Group II to be held at the Bahrain Tennis Federation outdoor hard courts on February 6-10. Also participating are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Lebanon, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, New Zealand, Pacific Oceania and host Bahrain.

The tournament calls for four pools of teams (Pools A, B, C and D) playing in a round-robin. The winners of each pool will play against one another (A1 vs. C1 and B1 vs. D1) to decide which two teams will be promoted to Asia/Oceania Group 1 in 2019.

The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) is expected to announce who will compete in Bahrain.

Anna Clarice Patrimonio, Khim Iglupas and Filipino-German Katharina Lehnert represented the Philippines in this year’s Fed Cup. The team was coached by Czarina Mae Arevalo, a former national player who also competed in the Fed Cup.

Patrimonio, Iglupas and Lehnert are members of the team that won the bronze medal in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, where Patrimonio clinched the silver in the individual singles event.

Meanwhile, the ITF also confirmed the venues of the three Zone Group 1 events scheduled on February 7-10.

The Europe/Africa Zone event, which will have 14 teams vying for one of two spots in the World Group II play-offs, will be held at the Tallink Tennis Centre in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Yacht and Golf Club Paraguayo in Lambre, Paraguay will be the venue of the Americas Zone event, while the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium in New Delhi, India will host the Asia/Oceania Zone event. Both events will have eight teams seeking for one slot in the World Group II play-offs.

The Americas Zone Group II event, on the other hand, will have two venues. Nine teams will see action at the Club Deportivo La Asuncion in Metepec, Mexico on June 18-23, while eight teams will compete at the Centro Nacional de Tenis de la FET in Guayaquil, Ecuador on July 18-21.

The venue for the Europe/Africa Zone Group III has yet to be decided.

The Fed Cup is considered as the World Cup of tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 95 nations taking part in 2017.