Elina Avanesyan to play for Armenia for the first time in the Billie Jean King Cup

The Armenian women’s national tennis team will compete in the Billie Jean King Cup with one of its strongest squads in recent years. The main event for Armenian tennis will be Elina Avanesyan’s debut for the national team.

The matches of Group III of the Europe Zone in the Billie Jean King Cup will take place in San Marino. Armenia will be represented at the main team tournament of the year by Elina Avanesyan, Ani Amiraghyan, Maria Azizyan and Alina Soghomonyan.

This is an important moment for the Armenian team: after changing her sporting citizenship, Avanesyan will play specifically for the Armenian national team for the first time. Elina began competing under the Armenian flag in 2024, but until now she had not taken to the court for Armenia in the Billie Jean King Cup. Last year, health problems prevented her from doing so.

Avanesyan was previously ranked inside the WTA top 40 and reached a career-high position of No. 36. After recovering from injury, she is gradually returning to competitive action and currently holds 281st place in the WTA rankings. Participation in the Billie Jean King Cup is important for her not only from the national team’s perspective, but also in the context of the future fight to qualify for the Olympic Games. To do that, Elina will need to climb significantly in the rankings again and return at least to the group of players in contention for Olympic qualification.

The team will also include experienced 32-year-old Ani Amiraghyan, who is ranked 807th in the WTA rankings. She remains one of Armenia’s most consistent tennis players of recent years and already has extensive experience representing the national team.

In addition, young and promising players will get a chance to prove themselves — 14-year-old Maria Azizyan and 18-year-old Alina Soghomonyan, the daughter of Artur Soghomonyan. Both have already taken their first successful steps in professional tennis and will be able to gain valuable international experience at team level.

Thus, Armenia approaches the tournament with a good combination of experience, leadership and young players. Avanesyan’s presence noticeably raises the level of the team and makes Armenia’s performance especially interesting for Armenian fans.

Group III tournament participants, 13 teams: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro and host nation San Marino.

It should be recalled that this year Armenia will also host the men’s Davis Cup in Group IV. The tournament will take place from June 15 to 21 in Tsaghkadzor.