The Turkmenistan women's tennis team began its performance in the Billie Jean King Cup zonal tournament, which began in the Vietnamese port city of Phan Thiet, with a 3-0 victory over the team from Tajikistan.
In Group 3 of the Asia and Oceania zone, where our compatriots compete, 8 teams, divided into two groups, are fighting for a ticket to the first group. The second-seeded Turkmenistan team was drawn into Group «B» along with Vietnam, Tajikistan and Iraq. Group «A» was made up of Nepal, Northern Mariana Islands, Brunei and Saudi Arabia.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the playoffs, the winner of which will earn the right to play in Group 2 of the Asia-Oceania zone next year.
Representing Turkmenistan in the Billie Jean King Cup are: as the number one player, Aynur Movlyamova, a 12th-grade student at Specialised secondary school № 27 in Ashgabat; as the number two player, Aylar Kakabayeva, a 10th-grade student at the School for gifted children in Ashgabat named after Hero Atamyrat Nyyazov and a pupil of the «Jahan» Creative Centre; as the number three player, Jennet Charyyeva, a 12th-grade student at secondary school № 19 in the city of Mary; and as the number four player, Anna Ponyatova, a 9th-grade student of the Joint Turkmen-Russian Secondary Comprehensive School named after A.S. Pushkin in Ashgabat. The head coach of the Turkmenistan women's national team, Master of Sports Yuriy Rogusskiy, serves as the captain of our team.
In their opening match, the Turkmenistan team had no major problems against the Tajikistan team, whose tennis players have been competing in the women's team tennis tournament since 1998. In the first singles match, which lasted 49 minutes, Aylar Kakabayeva dropped just one game to Sumaya Tuhtayeva – 6:1, 6:0. And in the second, Aynur Movlamova defeated Anisa Yahyayeva in 1 hour and 35 minutes – 6:0, 6:4.
In the third doubles match, Jennet Charyyeva and Anna Ponyatova defeated Sayora Rajabaliyeva and Anastasiya Tashintseva – 6:1, 6:1. It took our pair just 28 minutes to win.
The next opponent of Turkmen tennis players will be the Iraqi team, which lost to the first-seeded Vietnam team in the first round – 0:3.
The Billie Jean King Cup is the largest international team competition in women's tennis. The tournament is organised by World Tennis (formerly the International Tennis Federation, ITF). From 1963 to 2020, the tournament was known as the Fed Cup; in September 2020, it was renamed in honour of American tennis player Billie Jean King. Turkmen female tennis players have been competing in these events since 2004.
In the men's tournament, the equivalent competition is called the Davis Cup.
