Ranaivo’s Help Madagascar Dominate Group IV
Kearney, Neb. – Nebraska Kearney sophomore Narindra Ranaivo recently helped her home country of Madagascar go 6-0 in the Group stage of the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup. Madagascar was in "Africa Group IV" along with 10 other countries and in Pool B. They promptly went 5-0 in pool play and then swept Tanzania, the Pool A winner, in a promotional playoff. Group IV was held June 4-10 in Kigali, Rwanda (Ecology Tennis Club) and on clay courts. The duals consisted of two singles and a doubles match. Madagascar went a combined 17-1 and beat Cameroon, Lesotho, Senegal, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and then Tanzania. Ranaivo went 4-0 in doubles matches and won singles matches against Lesotho and Congo. Both wins came by 6-0, 6-0 scores. Finally, Madagascar's lineup also featured Milay Ranaivo, Narindra's sister, and a sophomore at Division I Campbell (S.C.). Later this month, "Africa Group III" (June 12-17) and "Europe III" (June 19-24) will take part in different locales. By winning "Group IV", Madagascar will be promoted to a higher Group for next year's event. This was their ninth all-time appearance in the Cup and the first since 2018. The Billie Jean King Cup (BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was changed to the Fed Cup in 1995 and changed again in September 2020 in honor of Billie Jean King. The BJK Cup is the world's largest annual women's international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
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