Team Kenya will know their opponents for the Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group III tournament on Sunday during the draw that will be held at the Nairobi Club.
The week-long tournament will commence the following day with junior doubles Wimbledon champions Angela Okutoyi and sibling sister Rosehilda Asumwa alongside Alicia Owegi and Cynthia Wanjala spearheading Kenya's charge.
The tournament will consist of two groups of six with the pool matches being played in a round-robin format from June 12-16 at 10 am. Each tie will consist of two singles and a double.
The playoffs are scheduled for June 17, where the two group winners will face off for promotion to the Billie Jean Euro/Africa Group II. Positional play-offs from positions 2-5 in each group will be played on the same day.
The holders of the sixth position in each pool will battle it out in the relegation play-off, where the loser will drop to Africa Group IV.
The 12 teams in contention are—Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ghana, Burundi, Uganda, Seychelles, Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Tennis Kenya (TK) secretary general Wanjiru Mbugua said the event is not only significant for Kenya but also for Africa.
“This competition has been held in Europe for the longest time and African countries have struggled.
"TK chairman James Kenani and I have in the past lobbied the International Tennis Federation to have this event held here in Africa.
"In Nairobi, the participation of African players is going to be 100 percent while previously it used to be 50 percent…so you can already see the impact this event has on Africa,” she said.
Nairobi Club chairman George Otieno said preparations for the event were almost complete with the upgrading of the tennis courts at a cost of Sh 8 million.
"Everything is on course for the championship. Tennis Kenya have been our partner for several years and we know it will be a successful championship," added Otieno.
Team Kenya started their residential training at the venue on Tuesday as they stepped up preparations for the event.
