Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 19 (ANI): In a historic first, Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) will host the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs in Bengaluru at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium. The Playoffs will feature 21 nations split into seven groups of three teams each.

In a unique format, every group tie will be hosted by a nation and the venues were formally announced following a draw held today in London, as per a release from the Billie Jean King Cup.

The Playoffs are scheduled to begin from 14th November 2025, with Bengaluru set to host on 14th, 15th and 16th November - this will be the first time ever that the Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs will be held on Indian soil, the release said.

India recently qualified for the Playoffs, only for the second time in its history, following a spectacular performance in the Asia/ Oceania Group I tie held in Pune. India qualified along with New Zealand for the playoff, following its 2-1 win over Korea. Both New Zealand and India had four wins each in the six-team competition. The only other time India qualified for the playoffs was in April 2021 when they played in Latvia that saw Jelena Ostapenko lead her team to a 3-1 victory over India.

KSLTA has been at the forefront of hosting international tennis events and have been a host to Davis Cup ties, ATP World Doubles Championships, WTA Tour Events, ITF Women's $100K, ATP Challengers, ITF World Tennis Tour events and this would also be a first for KSLTA to host the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup. In their endeavour to provide invaluable exposure to young players and fans across the country, the leadership at KSLTA bid to host the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs when India qualified last month.

India are in group G along with Slovenia and the Netherlands and the five-member Indian team will feature Ankita Raina (rank 292), top singles player from the country along with Sahaja Yamalapalli (rank 301), Shrivalli Bhamidipaty (rank 313), Vaidehi Chaudhari (rank 405) and Prarthana Thombare, the top-ranked Indian doubles player ranked no.136. In other groups, Canada, Mexico and Denmark will feature in group A, and group B includes Poland, New Zealand and Romania while group C features Slovakia, Switzerland and Argentina. Group D will have Czechia, Colombia and Croatia, group E will have Australia, Portugal and Brazil. Germany, Belgium and Turkiye are in group F.

'Hosting the prestigious BJK Cup playoffs at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium will be a historic moment for us at KSLTA and we believe it will elevate India's profile in the global women's tennis. It has always been our endeavour to host top international tennis events in Bengaluru, and we have world-class facilities here which equip us to host an event of this repute. We shall leave no stone unturned to make this a successful event to ensure Bengaluru lives up to the reputation of being a Global city,' expressed Priyank Kharge, Senior Vice President of KSLTA and Karnataka Minister.

Maheshwar Rao IAS, Secretary of KSLTA and Chief Commissioner, BBMP, said, 'It's a wonderful opportunity for us to host the BJK Cup Playoffs at Bengaluru, and we are thankful to AITA for giving us this opportunity. This is another feather in the cap of KSLTA, which has been hosting big International events in the city. I'm sure we will do a good job of this and shall make it a good experience for the visiting teams and the fans.'

Sunil Yajaman, Joint Secretary of KSLTA and Tournament Director of the event, said, 'We were absolutely thrilled when India qualified for the playoffs, and their performance was outstanding. There is a lot of promise with young tennis players performing exceptionally well, and a home playoff tie can be a huge fillip in boosting the growth of the sport, particularly in the grassroots, and also inspire potential talent. We are very delighted to be chosen as one of the host countries for the playoffs, and we look forward to welcoming the players and officials to Bengaluru. I believe this would be a rare opportunity for sports-loving citizens of Bengaluru to witness this prestigious event happening for the first time in India. We also feel this would be great opportunity for Indian team to perform at its best as all the players are well adapted to the conditions here. We thank the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for choosing Bengaluru to host this exciting event.' (ANI)