HAMBURG/STARNBERG, March 9, 2026

Germany will rely on a young and ambitious lineup for the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group I competition, which will take place from April 7 to 11 in Oeiras, Portugal. Eva Lys, Ella Seidel, Noma Noha Akugue and Tessa Brockmann have been selected to represent the German team, marking the first squad nomination by new captain Torben Beltz.

Beltz, who recently took over leadership of the national team, has deliberately focused on the next generation of German players. “We have put together a young and strong team with which we want to pursue promotion in the Billie Jean King Cup,” Beltz said. “The focus of the nomination was not exclusively on the matches in Portugal, but on a longer-term process in which we want to integrate players into the national team who will represent Germany in the coming years.”

Eva Lys, Ella Seidel and Tessa Brockmann were already part of Germany’s squad during the last Billie Jean King Cup appearance and will once again form the core of the team. Joining them for the first time is Noma Noha Akugue, who recently captured two ITF World Tennis Tour titles in Altenkirchen and Helsinki.

Although it will be Akugue’s debut as a player in the national team, she is already familiar with the Billie Jean King Cup environment. In 2023, the left-hander was part of the German squad as a practice partner during the team’s tie in Stuttgart.

A fifth player will be nominated at a later date. “We want to see how we can best complement this young team in order to achieve direct promotion,” Beltz explained. “Experience will also play a role in our considerations.”

The competition format presents a significant challenge. A total of 16 national teams will compete in Europe/Africa Group I, divided into four groups. Only the group winners will advance to the knockout phase, where the top three teams will secure promotion to the play-offs. Meanwhile, the four lowest-ranked teams will be relegated to Europe/Africa Group II.

Germany has been drawn in Group D alongside Denmark, Portugal and Sweden. To keep its promotion hopes alive, the German team must finish first in the group before competing in the decisive knockout stage.

“The upcoming challenge is not an easy one because of the format,” said DTB board member for sport Veronika Rücker. “We need to win the group and then finish at least third in the knockout stage to earn promotion. But we know the strengths of this newly formed team and we trust the development process that has been initiated within the women’s national team.”

DTB vice president Helmut Schmidbauer emphasized the long-term vision behind the selection. “We do not see the national team as an isolated project, but as part of a continuous development process,” he said. “That is why it is particularly pleasing that we have nominated a young team and are giving players from the new generation the opportunity to represent Germany at the highest level.”

At the same time as the Europe/Africa Group I competition in Oeiras, the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers as well as the America Group I and Asia/Oceania Group I events will also take place around the world.