LAHORE: Pakistan’s Ushna Sohail became the first Pakistani to win Billie Jean King Cup Commitment Award on Wednesday.
She represented Pakistan in 42 ties since her first appearance in 2011. She also holds the record for most wins and most ties played by any player from Pakistan.
"It is an honour for me to win this award. I'm really happy and eager to secure more achievements for Pakistan in the future," said Ushna.
Earlier, Pakistan defeated Turkmenistan 2-0 in the relegation playoff of the ongoing Billie Jean King Cup at the National Tennis Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Pakistan’s Ushna Suhail and Sara Ibrahim Khan won their singles’ matches on Saturday against Aisha Bikbulatova and Bahar Toymyradova, respectively.
Due to Pakistan’s unassailable lead after winning the singles’ matches, the doubles clash didn’t take place.
Pakistan retained their spot in Asia/Oceania Group 2 and avoided relegation to Group 3 after the win.
Pakistan, who were placed in Pool A, could only register one win in five matches before today’s playoff. Their only victory during the group stage came against Guam.
Apart from Ushna and Sara, Pakistan team included Mehak Khokhar, Amna Qayyum and Sara Mahboob.
Billie Jean King Cup, which was formerly known as the Federation Cup between 1963–95 and Fed Cup from 1995–2020, includes women's amateur tennis teams from around the world. It was inaugurated in 1963 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation in observance of its 50th anniversary.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.