Kenya will play host the Billy Jean King Cup Africa Group III tournament at Nairobi Club in June.
The event will bring together 11 countries and will be split into two pools in a bid to give a chance to the African teams playing in the later rounds.
In previous tournaments, Kenya has been pooled alongside higher-ranked European teams and struggled to find their footing.
According to Tennis Kenya secretary general, Wanjiku Mbugua Karani, Kenya stands a good chance of promotion to the later rounds of the competition.
“ We have not been competitive when pooled alongside Europeans but the International Tennis Federation has given us a lifeline and an African tournament. Playing at home gives us an advantage against our sisters from the continent,” added Karani.
Karani said with the tournament being played in June, Kenya will field their strongest squad which includes Wimbledon doubles junior champion Angela Okutoyi, sibling Rosehilda Asumwa, and Alicia Owegi among others.
“We will have very strong representation and we are going all out to win the event on home soil and do the country proud,” added Karani.
The teams coming to Nairobi include Tunisia, Morocco, Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Burundi, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Uganda and Seychelles.
Group four will feature Cameroon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia Lesotho, Angola and Senegal.
Karani said preparations have started in earnest. “As Tennis Kenya, we have started planning and preparing for the big event. We have started talking to our sponsors and partners and also the government in a bid to put on a world-class tournament.
Team Kenya had a dismal showing last year in Skope North Macedonia, beating Albania 2-1 but losing to Namibia 3-0 and Kosovo 3-0. In the classification match, Kenya lost to Botswana 2-0.
