Rwanda women’s national tennis team coach Eric Bimenyimana has named top seed Sonia Tuyishime, Gisele Umumararungu, Rona Tuyishimire and Carine Nishimwe in the squad for the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group VI in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The four players will fly to the host city on Monday as Rwanda targets promotion to Africa Group III.
The competition, named after American tennis legend Billie Jean King, will run from August 12 to 16, with 15 nations set to compete–three more than last year’s edition, which was held in Kigali.
Rwanda have been drawn in Group B alongside Ethiopia, Benin, Mozambique, Lesotho, Sudan and hosts Côte d’Ivoire.
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Group A comprises Togo, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, Seychelles, DR Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Zambia.
Rwanda will be hoping to improve on last year’s performance and secure promotion to Africa Group III. At the 2025 tournament in Kigali, Cameroon finished top of the standings and earned promotion after defeating Togo in the final, while Rwanda finished third and missed out on promotion.