~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

Year :      [2003]      [2002]      [2001]      [2000]      [1999]      [1998]      [1997]

Vietnam make Davis Cup return after 28 years

HANOI - Vietnam will compete in this year's Davis Cup competition, the sport's premier team event, after a 28-year absence. Vietnam, which joined the World Tennis Association (WTA) in June last year, has been drawn in group four of the Asia/Oceania zone. Vietnam will be grouped with Davis Cup debutant Myanmar, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The elimination round will take place from June 16 to 22 in Sri Lanka.

"The goal of the four Vietnamese players who will attend the Davis Cup is to gain new experience about competing on the world stage," said Doan Quoc Cuong, head of Vietnam's sports committee. After decades of conflict, Vietnam's return to the international tennis fold is being treated as a major sporting achievement back home. "Vietnam could have joined the WTA earlier but it would have had to pay the $4,500 annual membership fee when the standard of our players was very low," Cuong said. Tennis is still considered a sport for the wealthy elite in the communist-ruled country.

Agence France Presse - January 24, 2003.