Sri Lanka Wheelchair tennis team
Sri Lanka Wheelchair Tennis team consisting of Pradeep Kumara, Suresh Dharmasena, and Gamini Dissanayake will compete in the 2023 BNP Paribas World Team Cup World Group which takes place at Vilamoura Tennis and Padel Academy in Portugal for the second successive year.
Following the completion of four regional qualification events for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Europe, 43 teams from 24 countries currently line up in Vilamoura from May 1-7 (following the withdrawal of the women’s team from Colombia), when titles will be decided in men’s, women’s, quad and junior events at the ITF’s annual flagship wheelchair tennis team event.
Twenty-eight teams earned direct entry for the 2023 BNP World Team Cup following their results at the 2022 World Team Cup in Vilamoura. Nations that finished in positions 1-10 in the men’s event, positions 1-8 in the women’s event, positions 1-6 in the quad event, and positions 1-4 in the junior event return to Vilamoura this May.
Morocco’s men’s team and Nigeria’s women’s team secured their places among the World Group entries after winning the African Qualification.
Brazil’s men’s team and Chile’s women’s team earned their places in Vilamoura after winning the Americas Qualification.
The Asia & Oceania Qualification ended with the Sri Lankan men’s team, the Chinese women’s team and the Thai quad team winning their respective events to book their places among the World Group entries.
France and Switzerland won the men’s and women’s events, respectively, at the European Qualification, while Turkey won the second of this year’s quad qualification events as all three teams earned their places in the 2023 World Group
The BNP Paribas World Team Cup is often referred to as the Davis and Billie Jean King Cups of wheelchair tennis. The initial event took place in California in 1985 involving six men’s teams. The women’s competition began the following year, with quad and junior events introduced in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
World Team regional qualification events for men were introduced in 2012, with qualification events for quad teams introduced in 2020.
Since 1985 20 nations have hosted the World Team Cup (World Group). The event was held in the USA for the first seven years, from 1985-1991. Portugal will become the first nation to host the World Team Cup in successive years since 1991.
