Naomi Osaka will lead the Japanese women's side for the upcoming Federation Cup qualifiers. (Getty Images)
Reigning Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka will lead the Japanese women’s side against Spain in the upcoming Federation Cup qualifiers to be held on February 7 and 8 respectively.
The current World No. 4 will be joined by countrymates Misaki Doi, Kurumi Nara, Ena Shibahara, and Shuko Aoyama. The side will be captained by former Japanese player Toshihisa Tsuchihashi.
The World No.4 is the defending Australian Open champion, however, she crashed out of the current tournament after losing to American teenager Coco Gauff in the third round.
Japan and Spain will now be facing each other for the second straight year. Visitors Japan will be eager to avenge their 3-2 loss in Kita-Kyushu earlier this year when they meet the Ana Medina Garrigues-led Spanish side.
Except for Osaka, the rest of her teammates all fall below the 80-rank category with the next higher-ranked being Misaki Doi at 82. Both sides have faced each other three times and the Spaniards have emerged victorious on all occasions.
However, the Japanese would be a confident bunch having Osaka beside them, who at the moment is one of the best female tennis players in the world. She is the highest-ranked player from both sides, with Spain’s top-ranked player being Carla Suarez Navarro, who is currently 54 in the singles rankings.
Despite Osaka being one of the top performers in recent times, the Japanese suffered a shocking third-round exit at the hands of teenage American sensation Coco Gauff.
The 15-year old Gauff had a pretty easy outing sending the defending champion Osaka crashing out of the tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 win at the Rod Laver Arena.
The upcoming Federation Cup qualifiers would be held at the Centro de Tenis La Manga Club in Spain. Also, the matches between the two sides would be played in a clay court.
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