Malaysia and Australia secure Asian qualification

Top seeds Australia beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 in the women’s final of wheelchair tennis at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Asian Qualification in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the end of March to earn a place in the 16-nation women’s World Group at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup.

Malaysia qualified for men’s World Group II after winning all three of its ties against Iran, ending with a 2-0 victory on the final day of competition at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association complex.

Australia finished the four day event without dropping a set after world No. 48 Janel Manns beat Chinese Taipei’s Su-Cheng Chen 6-2 6-2 and world No. 35 Sarah Calati defeated Yi-Shan Wu 6-4 6-4.

Malaysia’s world No. 82 Ariffahmi Zaquan Ariffin earned a 6-2 6-1 win over Iran’s Mahdi Taiyebi in the first singles rubber on the last day of competition in the men’s event. World No. 51 Abu Samah Borhan then beat Hossein Mamipour 6-1 6-1 as Malaysia completed the event having won all eight rubbers in the three ties between the two countries.

Malaysia will now play in the final rounds of the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event for the 11th time, after finishing ninth in World Group II in 2014.

Australia, a former women’s World Group champion, will contest the event for the 16th time when the 2015 BNP Paribas World Team Cup takes place in Antalya, Turkey, on 25-31 May.

In February South Africa was a double winner at the Africa Qualification to earn places in men’s World Group II and the women’s World Group.

Colombia’s men’s and women’s teams also progressed at the Americas Qualification in mid-March, while Greece’s men’s team and France’s women’s team both advanced from the European Qualification at the end of March.