Previous Story
Another tough test for Carol
After qualifying for the 2019 Australian Open Juniors, the CNMI’s Carol Lee will be up for another high-level competition next week.
She is now in Astana, Kazakhstan to suit up for the Pacific Oceania Team that will see action in the 2019 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, Asia/Oceania Zone Group I from Feb. 6 to 9 at the National Tennis Centre. Joining Lee on the elite squad are Papua New Guinea’s Abigail Tere-Apisah and Violet Apisah, Samoa’s Steffi Carruthers, and captain Gillen De Gouy of Tahiti. The group is in Pool B of the seven-team field and will be playing against the heavily favored China, Indonesia, and South Korea. Pool A has Kazakhstan, India, and Thailand.
Lee and company arrived in Kazakhstan last Wednesday, giving the squad about a week to acclimate and prepare for the tough battle ahead.
“We will train until next Wednesday when Fed Cup starts. It will be harder than Group II. There are more competing players out there and they have higher rankings,” said Lee, who is thankful and proud for the opportunity to play for the Pacific Oceania Team for the third straight year,
Lee and her teammates will challenge several players who are in the Top 100 rankings of the ITF Pro Circuit, including world No. 21 Wang Qiang of China. The top pick also has No. 39 Zheng Saisai and No. 40 Zhang Shuai on its roster, while South Korea will be led by No. 221 Han Na-Lae, who will be backed up by Jang Su Jeong, Jeong Sunam and Kim Na. Indonesia’s lineup is composed of WTA competitors Beatrice Gumulya, Aldila Sutjiadi, Jessy Rompies, and Deria Nur Haliza.
“It will be another good experience for me to try and compete with these players and see what I need to improve on in my game to close the gap with the higher-ranked pro players,” the 17-year-old said.
The top finisher in the zone’s Group I will advance to the playoffs that will be played in April, while the fourth placer will be relegated to Group II. The third-ranked squads in each pool after the round-robin preliminary will square off for the right to remain in Group I.
Pacific Oceania was promoted to Group I last season, marking the first time in 18 years that the region will be playing in the top division.
