Five-Member SA team named for Billie Jean King cup tournament

Pretoria, South Africa, 30 March 2026 – Isabella Kruger makes a welcome return to the South African team for the Billie Jean King Cup Europe/Africa Group II tournament to be played in the city of Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 6-11April, 2026.

Kruger is the most experienced player in the national squad announced by SA captain Roxanne Clarke for the next round of the international women’s team competition. The 20-year-old player, a former quarter-finalist in the junior girls singles competition at the Wimbledon Championships, will lead a five-member national team. She will be joined by teenagers Abigayel Vosloo (18), Jahnie van Zyl (17), Allegra van der Walt (17) and Jenna Theron (16).

Vosloo and Van Zyl are the only players who retain their places in the SA team from the five-member squad that finished ninth at last year’s tournament in Cyprus to keep the country’s spot in the Group II division.

Clarke admitted it was going to be a difficult challenge for the SA team to retain their place in Group II, but she said they were eager to perform at their best.
“The competition will be really tough but I feel pretty optimistic about it because we’ve got two of our best players competing this year,” Clarke said.

“We’ve got Jahnie van Zyl, who just won the African Junior Championships and is playing really well at the moment. We’ve also got Bella Kruger who is joining us from Auburn University (where she competes on the US collegiate circuit) and taking a break from her university schedule to be part of the team. So for me that’s really exciting.”

The tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be played on a clay court and will feature a total of 10 teams. Aside from South Africa and the hosts, the other participating nations include Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Morocco and North Macedonia.

“The conditions might be quite tough. I believe it’s quite cold at this time of year in Banja Luka, and we’re playing on clay which is not necessarily one of our favourite surfaces” Clarke said.

“But fortunately our team are always willing to give their best, willing to learn and willing to try, so I’m sure the event will be quite good for us.

“We’re hoping to be able to stay in the group, which means we are going to have to really play our best tennis, which we always want to do for our country.”