From April 13 to 16, the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup 2022 will take place. In the city of Salinas, Ecuador, the Colombian team of tennis players led by Cucuteña María Camila Osorio will participate in the competition along with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Paraguay.
The Billie Jean King Cup is the most important women's tennis tournament by country in the world, as an equivalent to what in the men's branch is the Davis Cup. On this occasion, the Latin American section was divided into two groups, of which Colombia occupies the A with Argentina, Brazil and Guatemala.
On the cement courts of the Salinas Golf and Tennis Club in Ecuador, the delegation of coffee tennis players will face their continental peers on cement courts for a place in the play-offs of the competition that will be held on November 11, still to be confirmed.
Apart from María Camila Osorio, the Colombian Tennis Federation (Fedecoltenis) has decided to call Fabiola Zuluaga as team captain and the active competitors: María Fernanda Herazo (475 in the WTA singles ranking), Yuliana Lizarazo (399 in the doubles ranking) and María Paulina Pérez (432 in the WTA singles ranking) doubles ranking).
The announcement of the schedule and rivals of each country was announced this Tuesday, March 22, by the International Tennis Federation. The formerly called Fed Cup is the premier women's team tennis tournament and is now called the Billie Jean King Cup, in honor of the iconic American tennis player.
This year, Group I of the American Zone will be played, initially, with a group stage where the two best teams from each zone will qualify for the semifinals. The first in Group A will face the second in Group B, and the first in Group B will face the second in Group A.
At the same time, countries that finish in the last two places will have to fight for permanence. The third in Group A will face the fourth in Group B, and the third in Group B will face the fourth in Group A; the two teams that lose these keys will be relegated to Group II Americas in 2023.
It should be noted that within Group II of the Americas in the 2022 edition of the Billie Jean King Cup are the following countries:
Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
A year ago Colombia participated in this competition with Emiliana Arango and María Camila Osorio Serrano in its ranks. The coffee delegation was eliminated by Argentina and was unable to reach the ibplay-off area, where Argentina and Mexico did settle, countries that won with the participation of Nadia Podoroska, Paula Ormaechea; Fernanda Contreras and Giuliana Olmos.
These two countries (Argentina and Mexico) ranked in the definition zone by title together with Brazil as representatives of the Americas, however they could do little in Cordoba, London and Bytom (respectively) against Kazakhstan, England and Poland, who went on to the definition for the title in Prague, Czech Republic.
Finally, the world title of the 2020/21 edition went to the Russian Women's Tennis Federation after beating 2-0 in the final against Switzerland with the participation of Daria Kasatkina, Liudmila Samsonova and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
KEEP READING: