Davis Cup promotion possible with full-strength squad, says Tennis Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Tennis Malaysia (TM) president Mirzan Mahathir is confident the national squad can secure immediate promotion in the Davis Cup this year if they can assemble a full-strength squad for the tournament.
Malaysia was relegated from Group III of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania competition last year and will compete in the Group IV division this season.
The Group IV competition, which is the second lowest tier of the Davis Cup, will be held at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim on July 14-19.
The other nations in Group IV are Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Iraq, Nepal, Philippines, Malaysia as well as Pacific Oceania who were relegated alongside Malaysia from Group III last season.
Tennis Malaysia (TM) have until two weeks before the tournament to finalise their squad.
"Usually teams who have just been demoted will field their strongest squad and it will probably be the same with Pacific Oceania. Nobody wants to go down and stay down," said Mirzan during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today (April 24).
"Besides Pacific Oceania we also have the Philippines (as contenders) who are looking to work their way back up the divisions.
"We are working hard to assemble a strong squad for the tournament and if we are able to do that, I am confident we can achieve our objective (securing promotion).
"This (Group IV) is not a position we want to be in and I hope Malaysians will come out to support the team for all their matches. We are hoping that playing on home ground will give us a boost."
Malaysia will first host the Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC) Asia-Oceania Group II competition on June 16-21 at NTC. It will be the fourth year in a row that Malaysia is hosting the tournament.
Only the top two teams from both the Davis Cup and BJKC competitions will earn promotion.
TM is thus hoping to secure the services of touring professional Mitsuki Leong as well as his younger sister Shihomi to boost Malaysia's chances of promotion in both Davis Cup and BJKC competitions.
"We are certainly talking to them. They are very busy at the moment because they are playing tournaments week in, week out on tour," said Mirzan.
"I am confident we will be able to secure their commitment in the near future and I am looking forward to their participation in the teams."
Malaysia will line up alongside Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Mongolia, Pacific Oceania, Northern Mariana Islands, Singapore, Indonesia, Uzbekistan as well as the Philippines in BJKC Asia-Oceania Group II.
The national team achieved a best-ever top-three finish in Group II last year and TM is hoping they can at least replicate that this year.
The Philippines national body was suspended by ITF in December 2020 due to various issues. The ban was only lifted at the end of 2023 which is why they are currently competing in the lower divisions of Davis Cup and BJKC.
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