Germany’s new team boss believes his team is ready for the group stage ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup in Portugal
Team manager Torben Beltz is approaching the return mission in the Billie Jean King Cup with respect, but with offensive objectives. The German women’s tennis team will face the hosts in Oeiras/Portugal on Tuesday (12.00 noon/tennis.de) to kick off the Europe/Africa I regional group.
“We start against the Portuguese, who are also very strong. Especially here at home, they will certainly be cheered on by the crowd,” said Beltz, who is also making his first appearance as team manager in Portugal. His team has been on site since Friday and he rated the three training days so far as positive: “They were really very good.”
The winner of the clash between Denmark and Sweden awaits on Wednesday, followed by the loser of this match on Thursday. Only the group winner will keep their chance of one of three places in the play-offs in the fall. If they fail to do so, they could be relegated to Regional Group II.
The tightly-scheduled fixtures will put the young team of Ella Seidel (21), Noma Noha Akugue (22) and Tessa Brockmann (20) to the test. “The girls really have to play a lot. As a coaching team, we also have to try to set up well tactically so that we have our top players fresh at the right time,” said Beltz. The format is also “something new” for him. The German team must finish first in the group to keep their chance of one of three places in the play-offs in the fall.
Despite the short-term absence of Eva Lys, who has not yet overcome her knee injury from Australia, and the absence of the experienced Laura Siegemund and Tatjana Maria (both 38), Beltz formulated a clear goal. “Of course, our goal is to win the group and then play in the play-offs. The team has what it takes,” said the 49-year-old. He sees the inexperienced squad as an advantage: “It’s a young team and I also think that the team can play for a long time because everyone is young.”
Beltz called up Nastasja Schunk (22) and Eva Bennemann (18) at short notice to replace Lys. Like Noha Akugue, Bennemann is making her debut in the national team.
Beltz, who has been the national coach since the end of 2024, was appointed team captain in February. He succeeded Rainer Schüttler.
