Freshly minted Ghana Billie Jean King Cup Coach Albert Arthur has named his final 5-member squad to represent Ghana at the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup is the 58th edition of the international women’s tennis team’s tournament and the first to be styled as the Billie Jean King Cup.
The Europe/Africa Zone three Group scheduled from 15th June to 19th June 2021 at the SEB Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania. Ghana is in pot 3 alongside Kenya, Iceland, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda, Namibia, Albania, Uganda, Botswana, and Azerbaijan.
Coach Albert Arthur has selected Former University of Massachusetts standout Ruth Crawford and UK based Elizabeth Kapari Bagerbaseh.
3 local based players selected from the Ladies Challenger Series Naa Anyema Mckorley, Nyanyuie Grace Tomegah and Annette Cruicshank will join the duo in Lithuania.
A Brief History About the Billie Jean King Cup.
The Billie Jean King Cup – formerly known as Federation Cup (1963-1995) and Fed Cup (1995-2020) – was launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). It is now the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 116 nations entered in 2020.
On 17 September 2020, the competition was renamed by sponsor, BNP Paribas, to honour 77-year-old Billie Jean King, an American tennis player whose playing career saw her emerge victorious in the competition 10 times, alongside winning 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The inaugural Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals, involving the twelve teams that have qualified for the Finals, will take place in Budapest, Hungary on 13-18 April 2021.
South Africa is the only African nation to ever win the event, while USA is the most successful team in the history of the competition with 18 titles to their name.
Source: Ghana Tennis Federation
