ÖTV women fight for relegation in Lithuania in the BJK Cup!

ÖTV women fight for relegation in Lithuania in the BJK Cup!

A crucial week begins for the Austrian team in the Billie-Jean-King-Cup on April 7, 2025. Under the direction of ÖTV captain Marion Maruska, the women's team in Vilnius, Lithuania, fights for relegation in the Euro Africa zone. The team consists of Julia Grabher, Tamara Kostic, Arabella Koller, Ekaterina Perelygina and Mavie Austria. Grabher, which as an ex-world ranking 54. applies after a win at the $ 30,000 ITF tournament in Sardinia to the Baltic States, while the other players are newcomers to the BJK Cup.

The main goal of the team is clear: relegation. To do this, the team must reach the third place in their group or win a cross game in the event of a fourth place. Maruska emphasizes the challenges of the coming days when four national struggles can be expected. The Austrian team will compete against Latvia, Portugal and Croatia. With Jelena Ostapenko (WTA 25) and Anastasia Sevastova, Latvia is in particular good competition.

preparation and challenges

The preparation for the competition took place last month in the Südstadt. Here the team trained with balls from Vilnius. Maruska says that the team is considered underdogs, but she sees chances for relegation. Sports director Jürgen Melzer, who will be on site, describes the undertaking as "extraordinarily heavy", but is optimistic.

A third place in the group ensures relegation without further encounters, while a last place would result in a relegation game. In addition to the sporting challenges, the team also had to deal with personnel failures: Sinja Kraus, the current best player, suffers from flu and Tamira Paszek cannot compete either. Lilli Tagger, a 17-year talent, remains late due to the concentration on her development at home.

The status of the players and the tournament format

Captain Maruska emphasizes her team's excellent training performance and underlines that Kostic, who feels comfortable on hard court, has already gained experience on this surface. Compared to the opponents, the Austrian players in the ranking are far behind, since four of the five opposing Croatians are better positioned than Grabher (WTA 336).

The tournament itself takes place from April 8th to 12th, and the format does not provide for any series winners. In 2023, no team reached the finals, which makes the competition all the more exciting. The finalists of 2022 were Switzerland and Australia. For the ÖTV team, it is now important to give everything to prevent the crash into the lower league and to secure a future in this prestigious competition.