Vietnam is hosting the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group III, a regional tier of the women's world team tennis competition, in Lâm Đồng province from 21 to 24 October. According to state broadcaster VTV, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) again awarded the event to Vietnam, making this the second year in a row the country has staged it, with the Vietnam Tennis Federation (VTF) co-organising. The home team opened on the morning of 21 October with a win over Iraq; VTV did not give the score.

Eight teams, two groups

Eight national teams are split into two groups. World rankings as published by VTV:

Group ARankGroup BRank
Nepal80Vietnam86
Northern Mariana Islands100Turkmenistan93
Brunei115Tajikistan114
Saudi Arabia122Iraq129

At 86th, Vietnam is the second-highest-ranked team in the field after Nepal and the highest-ranked team in Group B. VTV said that position gives the team grounds to target promotion for next season.

Only the winner goes up

Teams play a round robin within their groups, followed by play-offs on 24 October. Only the overall winner is promoted to Asia/Oceania Group II for 2027, so topping the group is not enough on its own: Vietnam would have to win on the final day.

The home squad

Coach Nguyễn Hoàng Giang has four players: Nguyễn Thị Mai Linh of Hà Nội, and Trần Thụy Thanh Trúc, Vũ Khánh Phương and Trần Louise Natasha of Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyễn Hồng Sơn, VTF vice-president and secretary general and head of the organising committee, said the facilities in Lâm Đồng and the technical preparations would ensure a professional, fair event. He hopes the Vietnamese players will use the home matches to gain experience and push for the best possible result.

What comes next

Vietnam's remaining Group B opponents are Turkmenistan and Tajikistan; VTV has not published the match times. The play-offs on 24 October will decide the champion and the only team promoted to Group II. Follow results in Sports and on our racket sports page.