Billie Jean King Cup play-off draw on Thursday
The draw for the Billie Jean King Cup World Group play-off women's tennis event is scheduled to be made in London on Thursday.
Unlike the last time when India played Latvia in the play-off in April 2021 that saw Jelena Ostapenko lead her team to a 3-1 victory, it will be a three-nation competition this time, spread over seven groups.
Seven nations, Canada, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands have been seeded. The next bunch will have Romania, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.
India and New Zealand which qualified from the Asia-Oceania zone will be along with Argentina, Turkey, Denmark, Croatia and Portugal.
Each of the seven pool of three teams will have one country drawn from each of the three groups.
The host will also be decided by the ITF. The three teams in each group will compete on a league basis. The topper of each of the seven groups will make it to the World Group qualifier. The rest will return to group-1 in their zones.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- The Hindu
Yuki Bhambri and Robert Galloway go down fighting in final
Santiago Gonzalez and Austin Krajicek survived three match points to beat Yuki Bhambri and Robert Galloway 6-1, 1-6, [15-13] in the doubles final of the €596,035 ATP tennis tournament on grass in Mallorca, Spain, on Saturday. The champion team won 250 ATP points and €31,530. The Indo-American pair which did not drop a set in three matches before the final, got 150 points and €16,940. In the ITF men's event in Monastir, Tunisia, Nitin Kumar Sinha won his ninth doubles title, in partnership with Alejandro Pertusa of Spain. The results: €596,035 ATP, Mallorca, Spain: Doubles (final): Santiago Gonzalez (Mex) & Austin Krajicek (USA) bt Yuki Bhambri & Robert Galloway (USA) 6-1, 1-6, [15-13]. $15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia: Doubles (final): Alejandro Pertusa (Esp) & Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) & Luca Pow (GBR) 7-6(11), 6-3.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
a day ago
- First Post
Explained: Tennis' plan to work with betting companies to reduce abuse of female players
With British tennis star Katie Boulter opening up on abuse from faceless social media trolls, many of which contained references to betting, the WTA and ITF have decided to approach gambling companies for a solution to what is a major problem in sport. read more The WTA and ITF had published a report recently which revealed that 458 players were the targets of abuse last year. Reuters Online abuse directed towards athletes has become a major problem in sport with the advent of social networking platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) in the 2000s. And the issue becomes even more concerning when it's female athletes who are targeted by faceless trolls on social media. The sport of tennis isn't any different, where British star Katie Boulter has admitted to receiving death threats and explicit pictures from trolls, where a report published recently by Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) revealed that 458 players had been targeted last year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The report used an AI-led detection system developed by the Signify Group which found that frustrated gamblers accounted for nearly half (40 per cent) of the social media abuse, which rose to 77 per cent when it came to abuse directed towards the personal accounts of players. A worrying 26 per cent of that abuse were directed towards five female players, the report added. Tennis chiefs approach gambling firms in order to tackle online abuse As many as 15 of the worst offenders have been reported to police and other law enforcement agencies, according to The Guardian, and they have also been banned from buying tickets for the four Grand Slams as well as for ATP and WTA tour events. The spotlight, however, has fallen on betting companies and their reluctance to take action against punters venting their frustrations on social media, often at the expense of a player's mental well-being. According to the British publication, the WTA and ITF have intensified their talks gambling companies have deepened since the report was published by the two tennis organisations, urging them to fund educational campaigns in addition to taking stern action. The talks have been met with a degree of success, with some betting organisations are willing to take action against accounts belonging to those guilty of social media abuse. For instance, FanDuel – US-based gambling company that is WTA's official gaming partner in the United States – has altered its terms and conditions earlier this week which gives them the right to suspend accounts found guilty of harassing athletes, with the definition of harassment also getting broadened. 'We may, in our sole discretion, suspend or terminate your Account and/or exclude you from our services if we determine that you pose a threat to the safety of participants in a sporting event, or discover that you engaged in the harassment of a sports official, coach or any participant in a sporting event,' read a statement from FanDuel in an email to its users. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The report has brought about a constructive conversation with the betting industry. We will continue to push for the industry to do more as part of a collective effort to rid tennis of betting-related abuse. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their par,' a spokesperson for WTA and ITF said. British star Boulter opens up on online abuse British No 2 Boulter, for one, had revealed to the BBC that many of the abusive messages that she receives on social media appear contained references to gambling. British tennis star Katie Boulter had opened up on facing social media abuse in a recent interview with BBC. Reuters 'Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me,' was one of the messages received by Boulter after she had lost the first-set tie-breaker in her opening round-tie against Carole Monnet at the French Open. 'At the very start of my career, it's probably something I took very personally… getting comments about the way you look,' Boulter told BBC. 'It becomes more apparent every single time you go on your phone. 'I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now,' she added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Indian sports wrap, June 21: Women wrestlers win team title at U23 Asian Championship
WRESTLING U-23 Asian Championship: India tops team rankings in freestyle and women's sections Indian freestyle wrestlers collected five more gold medals and a silver at the Asian under-23 championships in Vung Tau, Vietnam, on Saturday. Nikhil (61kg) beat Kazakhstan's Merey Bazarbayev 7-2, Sujeet Kalkal (65kg) outclassed Uzbekistan's Umidjon Jalolov 10-0, Jaideep (74kg) got the better of another Uzbek Zafarbek Otakhonov 7-0, Chandermohan (79kg) defeated Turkmenistan's Alp Begenjov 5-2 and Sachin (92kg) beat Mongolia's Demchigdorj Tumurbaatar 5-2 in their respective summit clashes to claim the top honour. Jaspooran Singh (125kg) took silver. India finished atop team rankings in freestyle (six gold and a silver) and women (four gold, five silver and a bronze) sections and ended up fourth in Greco Roman (one gold and two bronze). - Y.B. Sarangi TENNIS Sahaja reaches semifinals at ITF event in US Sahaja Yamalapalli beat Julia Garcia 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the $30,000 ITF women's tennis tournament in Wichita, USA. Prajwal Dev and Nitin Kumar Sinha won the doubles title in the $15,000 men's event in Tunisia. RESULTS €54,000 Challenger, Royan, France Doubles (final): Matej Dodig & Nino Serdarusic (Cro) bt Adil Kalyanpur & Parikshit Somani 7-5, 6-7(4), [12-10]. $15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia Doubles (final): Prajwal Dev & Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Matthew Rankin & Marcus Walters (GBR) 6-4, 6-4. $30,000 ITF women, Wichita, USA Singles (quarterfinals): Sahaja Yamalapalli bt Julia Garcia (Mex) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. $30,000 ITF women, Tauste, Spain Doubles (final): Hiromi Abe & Kanako Morisaki (Jpn) bt Rutuja Bhosale & Ankita Raina 6-3, 6-2. $15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia Singles (semifinals): Tahila Kokkinis (Aus) bt Zeel Desai 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3. - Team Sportstar SWIMMING National Aquatics Championships: Last chance for Indian swimmers to qualify for World C'ships Top swimmers of the country, including Paris Olympians Srihari Natraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu, and Sajan Prakash, Aryaan Mehra, Kushagra Rawat, Shoan Ganguly and Hashika Ramachandra, will be seen in action in the National aquatics championships starting at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. While Dhinidhi will return to the Nationals after skipping the last edition, in order to prepare for the Olympics, Srihari will compete in only one event, 50m backstroke, as he will train for next month's World University Games (WUG) in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. 'The timing of the Nationals does not suit me as I am looking at peaking for the World University Games in two weeks. Had I competed in all five days, I would have lost a minimum of 10 days of training for the WUG,' said Srihari, who recently set the best Indian time for 200m freestyle. Following a sensational performance of winning 11 medals, including nine gold, in the Uttarakhand National Games in January, Dhinidhi will be brimming with confidence. Sajan, who made a comeback in the National Games after a break, wants to clock a sub-two minute time in his main event, 200m butterfly. The championships assumes importance as it will serve as the last qualifying event (before the cut-off date of June 29) for the World championships to be held in Singapore next month. Besides, it will serve as a screening event for the selection of swimmers for the National camp leading up to the Asian championships to be held in Ahmedabad from October 1 to 15. Swimmers doing well in this championships will also be picked for the World junior championships in Romania (August) and the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain (October). - Y.B. Sarangi GOLF Aditi Ashok misses cut in tough conditions at KPMG PGA Champs Indian golfer Aditi Ashok missed the cut in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship after a second round 11-over 83 in tough conditions at the Fields Ranch East course in Frisco. It was the first time in a Major that Aditi, who had a first round 81, shot successive rounds in the 80s. She had nine bogeys and a double and no birdies. She failed to get a single birdie over two days. - PTI Bhatia placed Tied 35th at Travelers Championship Akshay Bhatia landed an eagle courtesy two great shots on the sixth but still managed only an even par 70 for the second day running in the Travelers Championship where he is now placed Tied-35th in the United States. Indian-American Bhatia, fighting for a place in the Fedex Cup play-offs, birdied the third and eagled the sixth but dropped one shot on the fourth and a double on the 17th. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler dropped a late double bogey, but carded 1-under 69 and still kept a share of the lead alongside Justin Thomas (64) and Tommy Fleetwood (65). The trio is at 9-under. Scheffler had led after the first day 8-under. He had an early bogey on the sixth and then four birdies to move to 11-under and sole lead before he dropped a double on the Par-4 17th. When Thomas and Scheffler are paired in the third round, it will be the first time since they played the first two rounds at the Masters. -PTI Saptak Talwar moves to tied 9th spot on Hotel Planner Tour Saptak Talwar played a second successive round of 1-under 69 to move up to tied 9th on the leaderboard at Blot Play9 on the Hotel Planner Tour at Pleneuf Val Andre in France. In his second round at Bluegreen de Pleneuf Val Andre, Talwar started the day on the back nine and made birdies on the 11th and 15th holes with bogeys on the 14th and 16th. On the front nine he managed to birdie the sixth hole. Talwar will be hoping to convert his 36 hole position into a strong finish. Talwar was two under after this round. The 40-year-old James Morrison found some form as he played a bogey free round of 4-under 66 to take the lead. Having won twice on the DP World Tour the Englishman had rolled back the years and displayed some of his form from the past with birdies on the first, seventh, 11th and 15th holes. Morrison now sits at 10-under and is three strokes clear of the field. In second place is Matthis Besard of Belgium, who has played rounds of 66 and 67 to put himself at seven under at the end of the second day. Day one leader Max Kennedy struggled and carded 6-over 76 to slip down to tied third in the standings. -PTI Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech: Khalin Joshi equals course record to move into top-three India's Khalin Joshi matched the course record as he shot 9-under 63 to move into third position after day two of the Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech. Joshi, who carded 1-under 71 on the first day, is now 10-under at the Samanah Golf Club. Indian-American Varun Chopra (67-66) shared the lead with Moroccan Ayoub Lguirati (67-66) at 11-under after two rounds. Joshi made 10 birdies in his round and looked good to set a course record before he had his only bogey of the day -- on the 18th -- as his shot landed in a bunker. The other Indian in the top-10 is Karandeep Kochhar, who shot 5-under 67 to move up the leaderboard to tied ninth with a total of seven under. Ajeetesh Sandhu played a round of 2-under 70 to move up one position into tied 12th and has a total of six under. Rahil Gangjee and Arjun Sharma are placed tied-36th with a 36-hole score of three under. Gangjee played a second round of 5-under 67, while Sharma played 4-under 68. Aman Raj also made the cut, shooting a 5-under 67 to move into tied 49th with a two-day total of two under. S Chikkarangappa (75-69) and Pukhraj Singh Gill (76-72) missed the cut. First day leader, Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij struggled on day two as he shot 1-over 73 to slip to tied fourth and has a two day total of eight under. -PTI CHESS GM Lalit Babu in joint lead after round 5 Grandmaster Lalit Babu MR of Andhra Pradesh and IM Arsen Davtyan of Armenia maintained their perfect 5/5 record to share the joint lead after round 5 of the Aurionpro International Grandmaster and Junior Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre. The Junior tournament also heated up, with top seed and FM Aansh Nerurkar of Mumbai and CM Madhesh sharing the top spot with 5 points after 5 rounds. The two leaders face off in Round 6, which should help in identifying the sole leader. While GM Lalit Babu outmanoeuvred GM Nguyen Duc Hoa in a positional grind from the English Opening, IM Arsen Davtyan defeated GM Nikitenko Mihail using the Long Castle Variation in the King's Indian Defence. GM tournament leaders after 5 rounds: GM Lalit Babu and IM Arsenal Davtyan 5/5 Chasing the Leaders (4.5/5): GM Levan Pantsulaia GM Luka Paichadze GM Mamikon Garibyan IM Alexander Slizhevsky GM Aleksej Alexandro IM Buddhidhama Nayaka - Team Sportstar HOCKEY Hockey India Masters Cup: Odisha, Punjab win in women's category; Chandigarh, TN win in men's Day four of the inaugural Hockey India Masters Cup 2025 saw some exciting matches as Odisha and Punjab in the women's category secured another victory in the tournament. In the men's category, Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu had an eventful day after registering win in their respective matches. In the first match today, Odisha defeated Tamil Nadu 2-1 in a closely contest, in the women's category. Sarita Lakra (17', 27') scored a match winning brace for Odisha while Saumya (28') tried to narrow down the goal difference with her consolation goal for TN. In the last match of the day, Tamil Nadu defeated Andhra Pradesh 11-0, in the men's category. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement In the other match, Punjab defeated Haryana 1-0 in a nail-biting thriller, in the women's category. It was captain Amandeep Kaur (52') who finally managed to sneak past Haryana's defence and scored the only goal of the match for Punjab. In the first match of the men's category, Chandigarh defeated Manipur 5-1. Sanjiv Kumar (19'), Harvinder Singh (23'), Ravinder Singh (24'), Vikram Saini (49') and Amitsingh Rajput (58') scored one goal each for Chandigarh. On the other hand, Pangambam Priyokumar Singh (25') could only score for Manipur. In the last match of the day, Tamil Nadu defeated Andhra Pradesh 11-0, in the men's category. Captain Adam Antony Sinclair (9', 38') and Cedric Marcellin D Cruz (43', 52') together scored four out of the eleven goals in the match. Besides the same, Raman R (3'), Govthaman (13'), Sudharsan S (20'), Ramesh Nallamuthu (22'), Vinothkumar (30'), Ramadoss V (52') and Vinoth Kumar AP (57') also contributed with one goal each to take the game further away from Andhra Pradesh. - Team Sportstar RUGBY Chennai Bulls clinches comeback win; Hyderabad Heros extends winning streak in RPL Chennai Bulls returned to winning ways during Season 1 of the GMR Rugby Premier League, as it overcame a 17-point difference to win 31-24 against the Bengaluru Bravehearts at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai on Saturday. The Chennai Bulls drew first blood on the night as Joseva Talacolo went over the line at a good pace, and Joaquin Pellandini converted from close range. The Bulls, who had started the season brightly, were looking to return to winning ways, but the Bravehearts, who had defeated them in the return fixture, were up for the challenge. Philip Wokorach and Tone Shiu scored a couple of tries each while Akuila Rokolisoa converted his kicks as the Bravehearts roared back and stormed into the lead. At half-time, the Bravehearts led 24-7. In the next four minutes, the contest turned on its head - Terry Kennedy and Joseva Talacolo – added a try each for the Bulls, and Filipe Sauturaga was on hand to convert his kicks. With a quarter to go, the Bulls led by 2. Vaafauese Maliko got himself on the scoresheet in the final few minutes as the Bulls ensured the comeback would not be thwarted. Eventually, the Bulls walked off with all the points in their bag. Hyderabad Heroes rode on the brilliance of Javed Hussain, who led the line from the front, and went on to win 24-17 against the Mumbai Dreamers. Hyderabad Heroes is now the only team to be unbeaten, winning its first five games. Hussain, who made a brilliant individual run to get the try, after which Terio Tamani wasted no time in completing the conversion. After that, Akash Balmiki's try brought the Mumbai Dreamers some joy. However, that was short-lived as Hussain's second try gave the Heroes some breathing space. The Dreamers were not throwing in the towel just yet as Elias Hancock ran through and over the line, and Akash Balmiki added two more points to the tally. At half-time it was 12-12, with all to play for. Early in the second half, Nayan K dashed ahead of Hyderabad's defence, to give the Dreamers a slender 5-point lead. But, off the very next play, the Heroes had Kevin Wekesa scoring an important try, to level things up. From then on, the Heroes absorbed the pressure from the Dreamers and then Wolfram Hacker scored a try, and Terio Tamani wrapped up the win with the conversion. The win means the Heroes go top of the table, overtaking the Chennai Bulls. -Team Sportstar CUE SPORT Chawla, Advani to lead India's charge in Asian Snooker Reigning IBSF World 6-Red snooker champion Kamal Chawla and multiple-time IBSF World champion Pankaj Advani will lead India's challenge at the ACBS Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship and the Asian Team Snooker (15-Red) Championship, beginning in Colombo on Sunday. Besides seasoned Chawla, reigning national champion Paras Gupta and Pushpender Singh are the other Indians who will compete in the shorter version of snooker in the continental bash. Advani will look to help India regain the team championship that begins on Thursday. Brijesh Damani, who was part of the team that won the title two years ago in Iran, and former pro and World Games gold medallist Aditya Mehta are the other members of the formidable three-member team. The 45-year-old Chawla's maiden World 6-Red triumph last year in Mongolia is a testimony to his good form. The veteran, a three-time bronze medallist in the continental event, will look to go all the way this time. 'I am going in with no expectations. I will take it one frame and one match at a time,' Chawla said. Gupta, the National Games (Goa) gold medallist and a finalist of the longer version of snooker at the Nationals in 2023, will certainly be watched with interest. The squads: Asian 6-Red Snooker: (June 22-26): Kamal Chawla, Paras Gupta, Pushpender Singh. 15-Red Snooker Team (June 26-28): Pankaj Advani, Brijesh Damani, Aditya Mehta. -PTI
