By God’sbest Christ’sfullness
Nigeria’s women’s tennis team have secured promotion to the Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group II for the first time after defeating hosts Botswana 2-1 in the promotion play-off at the 2026 Europe/Africa Group III qualifiers in Gaborone.
The Nigerian team of Etoro Bassey, Success Ogunjobi, Khadijat Mohammed and Oyinlomo Quadre, coached by Rotimi Akinloye, reached the play-off after finishing top of Group C with victories over Burundi, Namibia and Madagascar.
Their campaign suffered a setback with a 2-1 defeat to Tunisia, but they bounced back by beating Botswana in the decisive match to qualify for the promotion play-off before defeating the hosts again to seal a place in Group II.
The achievement marks Nigeria’s first promotion to the Europe/Africa Group II since making its Billie Jean King Cup debut in 2021. The team had previously come close in 2024 after winning their group and beating hosts Kenya before losing to South Africa in the final promotion round.
The latest success follows Nigeria’s promotion to the Davis Cup World Group II earlier this year, marking another step forward for the country’s tennis programme.
The Billie Jean King Cup is the world’s largest annual international women’s team tennis competition, making Nigeria’s promotion another milestone for the sport in the country.
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