Russian Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev has named his team for the upcoming tie in Israel, and for the first time in her career, Maria Sharapova is expected to play for her homeland in international competition.
The first round of Fed Cup by BNP Paribas will be held February 2-3.
The world No. 5 is scheduled to lead the Russian squad, followed by Anna Chakvetadze, Dinara Safina, Elena Vesnina, and Elena Likhovtseva.
Although Tarpishchev named five players, he is expected to narrow it down to only four during the team’s training camp, according to the Guardian Unlimited.
According to the ITF’s Fed Cup rules, a player must make herself available to her country for Fed Cup competition to be eligible to compete in the Olympics. Sharapova has already done that on multiple occasions, but her Olympic goals are still in jeopardy because the Russian Tennis Federation is more likely to select players who have competed for Russia in Fed Cup.
Good news – Maria Sharapova, Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Vesnina and beautiful team.