Pakistan might face Slovenia in Davis Cup next year

KARACHI: Pakistan will face Slovenia in Davis Cup playoffs next year if they lose against India this November.

International Tennis Federation (ITF) has released the draws for the 2020 Davis Cup World Group I and World Group II Play-offs. Pakistan and India are to play their Asia/Oceania Group-I tie on November 29 and 30 in Islamabad. The team that loses will face Slovenia in the World Group-II Play-off battle.

In September, ITF introduced a new format by creating World Group I and World Group II, replacing the regional Group-I and Group-II. Now additional play-off rounds for both World Group-I and World Group-II will be held in March 2020.

Pakistan, ranked 37th, have never faced Slovenia, ranked 56th, in Davis Cup. Slovenia’s best result is playing in Europe/Africa Group-I. Prior to 1993 Slovenian players competed for Yugoslavia.

Pakistan’s best Davis Cup performance came in 2005, when they reached the World Group play-offs. The 12 winning nations from the World Group-I Play-offs will compete in World Group-I ties in September 2020 along with the losing nations from the qualifiers.

The losing nations from the World Group-I Play-offs will compete in World Group-II ties in September 2020, along with the winning nations from the World Group-II Play-offs.

The ITF has already announced an expanded format for the Davis Cup Group-I and Group-II competition which will be played on a worldwide basis from 2020, providing increased opportunities for all competing nations.