Bahrainis set for Davis Cup

TDT | Manama                                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain have named their four-player squad that will be flying the Kingdom’s flag at the Asia/Oceania Group V matches in the 2023 Davis Cup.

The zonal event is set to be held at the Bahrain Tennis Federation (BTF) hard courts in Isa Town, with the participation of 13 men’s national teams. They are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Laos, Macau, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Tajikistan, Yemen and hosts Bahrain.

The competing squads have already arrived on the island ahead of tomorrow’s start of play. Bahrain’s squad includes top tennis talents Elyas Abdulnabi, Faris Altoobli, Shadi Kallel and Hasan Abdulnabi.

The national team’s coach is Abdulkarim Abdulnabi. The draw for the event’s preliminary round is scheduled for today. It will divide the field into four groups for the round-robin stage, with the top team from each moving on to the play-off round. Two winners will then be promoted to Group IV for next year’s Davis Cup competition.

Also taking place today will be the official pre-tournament technical meeting, during which a number of topics will be discussed including the event format, match system and schedule, rules and regulations and other developments.

The Davis Cup is one of the premier world competitions for men’s tennis, run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The Kingdom is hosting Asia/Oceania group matches for the third successive year. This year’s event comes directly after the BTF’s hosting of the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III matches last week.

The two tournaments will be followed by three successive International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior championships. Two of the championships will be J30 events, with the first being held from 30 October to 4 November, followed by a second from 6 November to 11 November.

The third, a J60 tournament, will then take place from 13 November to 18 November. All three competitions are part of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, featuring the world’s top tennis talents aged 13 to 18. Each event in the Kingdom will feature play in boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles.