London, Dec 23, 2014: The ITF announced that the 2014 BNP Paribas World Team Cup, the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event, will be held in Alphen, Netherlands. The event will be hosted by the Dutch Tennis Federation (KNLTB) at the Nieuwe Sloot Tennis Centre in Alphen from 26 May until 1 June.
The World Team Cup, which will celebrate its 30th year in 2014, is often referred to as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup of wheelchair tennis. The initial event took place in California in 1985 involving six men’s teams. The women’s competition began the following year, with quad and junior events introduced in 1998 and 2000 respectively. Due to the increased number of teams wanting to take part, the ITF introduced regional qualifying for the men’s and women’s events in 2012.
A total of 105 teams from 48 countries will take part in the 2014 competition. Four regional qualifying events will determine the four men’s and four women’s teams to join the direct entries in the finals in Alphen. In Alphen, teams will contest the men’s World Group (12 nations), men’s World Group 2 (12 nations), women’s World Group (12 nations), quad event (8 teams) and junior event (8 teams).
The full list of dates and venues is as follows:
27 Feb – 2 Mar: Africa Qualification: Nairobi Club, Nairobi, Kenya
11-14 March: Americas Qualification Complejo Deportivo de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico
16-19 March: Asia Qualification: Sri Lankan Tennis Association, Colombo, Sri Lanka
29 Mar – 2 Apr: Europe Qualification: Kaya Belek Resport Hotel, Antalya, Turkey
26 May – 1 Jun Finals: Nieuwe Sloot Tennis Centre, Alphen, Netherlands
This is third time that Netherlands will host the World Team Cup, which was previously staged in Roermond in 1995 and Groningen in 2005. Netherlands is the most successful nation in the event’s history with a total of 40 titles across all four categories.
BNP Paribas has been the event’s title sponsor since 2012 in a five-year agreement that runs through 2016. The company’s long-term agreement with the ITF also includes sponsorship of Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup, and the biennial Worldwide Coaches Conference and regional coaches workshops.
Jan Siemerink, Technical Director at the KNLTB, said: “The Netherlands plays an important role within the world of wheelchair tennis, and I think it is great to now have a chance to host such a prestigious event here. Nieuwe Sloot Tennis Centre is a beautiful location with 14 clay courts and 12 indoor courts, and I am sure will stage a successful event.” —- ITF
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