Nigeria’s women’s tennis team have made history, securing promotion to the Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group II for the first time after defeating hosts Botswana 2-1 in the promotion playoff at the 2026 Europe/Africa Group III qualifiers in Gaborone.
The quartet of Etoro Bassey, Success Ogunjobi, Khadijat Mohammed and Oyinlomo Quadre, under the guidance of coach Rotimi Akinloye, had earlier topped Group C at the qualifiers with wins over Burundi, Namibia and Madagascar, before their promotion bid suffered a setback with a 2-1 defeat to Tunisia.
Nigeria responded by beating Botswana in the decisive final match to seal their place in the promotion playoff, which they went on to win against the same opponents to complete the historic breakthrough.
The achievement is Nigeria’s first promotion to the Europe/Africa Group II since the country’s debut in the competition in 2021, and comes after the team narrowly missed out on a similar breakthrough in 2024, when they topped their group and defeated hosts Kenya before losing to South Africa in the decisive promotion round.
The landmark victory comes on the heels of Nigeria’s promotion to the Davis Cup World Group II earlier this year, highlighting the progress of the country’s tennis programme on both the men’s and women’s fronts.
The Billie Jean King Cup remains the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s tennis, making Nigeria’s promotion a significant milestone as the country’s tennis programme continues to build momentum on the international stage.
By: Peter Akinbo
