India to face Latvia in maiden Billie Jean King Cup play-offs in Jurmala

India will face the Latvian tennis team for a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers for 2022 in their first play-offs campaign in April in the beach city of Jurmala in Latvia.

The Billie Jean King Cup, earlier known as the Fed Cup, is a team event for women’s tennis players who represent their country in singles and doubles matches.

The play-offs were originally scheduled to be played in April last year and was pushed to February 2021 as the tennis calendar was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the play-offs have now been postponed to 16-17 April, 2021. The tie will be played on the indoor hard courts of the National Tennis Centre Lielupe in Jurmala.

The Indian tennis team, led by the veteran Sania Mirza and the impressive Ankita Raina, had made its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup playoffs in March earlier this year when India finished second behind China in Asia/Oceania Group I.

India had a poor start to their campaign, as they lost 3-0 to China in their opening encounter in the group. However, the team bounced back to win 3-0 against Uzbekistan in the next tie.

Sania Mirza joined the Indian tennis team after the first two ties and the veteran led India to three consecutive identical 2-1 victories over South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia to ensure second spot in the group and progress to the play-offs for the first time.

If India win their play-offs tie against Latvia, they will earn a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers for 2022, where they can challenge the best teams in the world to play in the Finals next season.

However, a loss in the play-offs will mean that India will have to work their way up the Asia/Oceania Group I stage again in 2022.