The USTA has announced that the Royal Lahaina Resort in Maui has been selected as the site for the 2017 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group First Round between the United States and Germany, Feb. 11-12. Fed Cup is the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with approximately 100 nations taking part each year.
The best-of-five match series begins on Saturday, Feb. 11, with two singles matches. That is followed by two reverse singles matches and the doubles match on Sunday, Feb. 12. Matches will be played on an outdoor hard court. The U.S. Fed Cup team captain will select the four players to represent the United States no later than 10 days prior to the event. Germany is likely to be led by 2016 US Open champion and world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
2017 will be the second consecutive year that Hawaii will host Fed Cup and the first time that a state has hosted consecutive Fed Cup home ties. Hawaii became the 16th state to host this prestigious competition earlier this year when Kailua-Kona held the World Group II First Round against Poland, in which the U.S. team of Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe and Bethanie Mattek-Sands swept Poland, 4-0. Hawaii hosted Davis Cup, the men’s equivalent to Fed Cup, in Kohala Coast at the Mauna Lani Racquet Club in the 1992 World Group First Round, where the U.S. team of Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras swept Argentina, 5-0. The Royal Lahaina Resort also hosts a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit men’s Challenger in January.
“We are proud to bring Fed Cup back to Hawaii after an extremely successful tie earlier this year here that brought sell-out crowds and had such a positive impact on the community,” said USTA Chairman, CEO and President Katrina Adams. “Maui will be the perfect fit for us next year in our first-round matchup with Germany. Hawaii has such welcoming and vibrant tennis fans and the Royal Lahaina Resort is a world-class venue that will be an ideal host for the fans, players, and everyone involved. We look forward to Hawaii fans coming out again to cheer on the U.S. to victory.”
The winner of this matchup will advance to face either the Czech Republic or Spain in the World Group Semifinals, held April 22-23, for a chance to compete for the 2017 Fed Cup title. The losing nation will compete in the World Group Playoffs in April to remain in the World Group for 2018. The U.S. will be competing in the World Group for the first time since 2014.
The United States holds an 8-5 head-to-head record over Germany in Fed Cup. The U.S. last faced Germany in the 2011 World Group Playoffs in Stuttgart, Germany, where Germans swept the Americans, 5-0. The U.S. last defeated Germany in the 2008 World Group First Round in La Jolla, Calif., 4-1.
Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, Nov. 18, at www.usta.com/fedcup. From Friday, Nov. 18, through Thursday, Jan. 5, only two-day ticket packages will be sold with the greatest initial ticket value. Beginning on Friday, Jan. 6, two-day packages will no longer be available. Fans will then have access to single-day tickets for Saturday or Sunday.
The USTA has partnered with the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Royal Lahaina Resort, Kaanapali Beach Resort Association and Maui Visitors Bureau to bring this event to Maui.
“We are excited to have Fed Cup return to Hawaii after an exciting and sold out Fed Cup in Kona in February,” said Ron Romano, USTA Hawaii Pacific Executive Director. “Fed Cup was a great venue to promote and develop the growth of tennis in Hawaii, while promoting Hawaii as a visitor destination. I have no doubt that the tennis community will embrace the USA versus Germany tie and we could not have a more beautiful location than the island of Maui.”
“Many thanks to the USTA for believing in Hawaii as a premier location to host top-flight international tennis,” said George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. “Maui is a spectacular setting to play tennis in winter, and fans worldwide will enjoy seeing the U.S. and German teams compete for the Fed Cup in warm, beautiful conditions with enthusiastic fans cheering them on."
The site selection is subject to final approval by the International Tennis Federation. Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage of the World Group First Round.
The U.S. leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, the last coming in 2000. The U.S. is 38-6 all-time in Fed Cup ties played at home and holds an overall 146-36 record. For more information, including access to player and historical Fed Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/fedcup or www.fedcup.com. Follow the U.S. Fed Cup Team on Twitter @USFedCupTeam. Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Fed Cup Team.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking seven summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.
About the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority: The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is responsible for strategically managing the State of Hawai‘i’s marketing initiatives to support tourism. HTA’s goal is to optimize tourism’s benefits for Hawai‘i, while being attentive to the interests of travelers, the community and visitor industry. Established in 1998 to support Hawai‘i’s leading industry and largest employer, HTA continually strives to help ensure the sustainability of tourism’s success. For more information about HTA, please visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org. Follow updates about HTA on Facebook, Twitter (@HawaiiHTA) and its YouTube Channel.
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