Mirza, Raina to lead Billie Jean King Cup World Group Play-offs

The team will be captained by Vishal Uppal, according to All India Tennis Association (AITA).The two-day away tie will be played at the National Tennis Centre Lielupe, Jurmala, Latvia from April 16.

By: Express News Service
Pune | March 21, 2021 05:14 AM IST

2 min read

Sania Mirza with a forehand return. (AP)

Former doubles world number one Sania Mirza and the country’s best singles player Ankita Raina will play the Billie Jean King Cup World Group Play-offs away tie against Latvia next month. The leading duo will be joined by Rutuja Bhosale, Karman Kaur Thandi, debutant Zeel Desai and Riya Bhatia, who was a playing member last year, and will be the reserve player of the team.

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The team will be captained by Vishal Uppal, according to All India Tennis Association (AITA).The two-day away tie will be played at the National Tennis Centre Lielupe, Jurmala, Latvia from April 16. The Indian team is expected to leave by April 9 for the play-offs.

“The AITA selection committee picked the team after a virtual meeting on Tuesday. The team was selected on the basis of form, ranking, experience and their game styles. As for having Bhatia in the reserve, she is a good player but keeping in account her recent performance in the ITFs in Delhi and Pune, the selection committee felt her current form was not very good,” said Uppal.