Tennis player Naomi Osaka will be participating in the national/regional competition ``Billie Jean King Cup'' to be held in April for the first time in about four years.
The Japan Tennis Association announced on the 15th the five members of the national team who will participate in the final qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup against Kazakhstan to be held in Tokyo in April.
Among them, Osaka, a former world No. 1 player who is returning to the tour after giving birth, will be participating for the first time in about four years.
Ai Sugiyama, the coach of the Japan women's national team, said of Osaka, ``I'm really happy that Osaka has expressed her desire to compete in a competitive match.Although she hasn't fully recovered in the rankings yet, she has shown her ability by achieving results in higher ranking tournaments.'' I have proven this, so I was approached at an early stage."
Other members selected include Hibi Nao, Hondama Mayi, Shibahara Eina, and Aoyama Shuko.
The final qualifying round for the Billie Jean King Cup against Kazakhstan will be held on April 12th and 13th at the Ariake Coliseum in Koto-ku, Tokyo, and the winning team will advance to the finals to be held this November. .