Nowhany Silva wins Billie Jean King Cup duel at age 15

Early this Saturday morning, Sao Paulo tennis player Nana Silva became the youngest player to win the Billie Jean King Cup, the biggest team event in women’s tennis, equaling Bea Haddad Maia’s feat.

The Sao Paulo native, aged 15 years, eight months and two days, defeated Portugal’s Matilde Jorge, ranked 255th, 7/5, 6/4. In the duel against Portugal, Laura Pigossi won against Francisca Jorge, and the duo of Luisa Stefani and Ingrid Martins closed the coffin for Portugal at 6/1. 4/6 6/3 against Ines Murta and Angelina Voloshuk.

Bea Haddad won her first zone game for the United States against Bolivia on February 1, 2012, also at the age of 15 years, 8 months, and 2 days. At the time, Bea had a double score of 6/1 against Nabila Farah. Hadad Maia also participated in the duel against Venezuela, lost to Gabriela Paz the next day, and did not participate in the matches against Paraguay and Colombia. Bea has 21 wins and 12 losses in singles, the best result for the Brazilian national team since the tournament began in 1965, having played 180 matches.

“This year has been a year with a lot of new experiences especially on the Pro Circuit and now we have achieved our first win in the Billie Jean King Cup. I am very happy with everything that is happening but I haven’t even processed it properly yet. I was very welcomed by the girls and the whole team. Today I was able to compete at a high level and put into practice what I have been training for. Now it’s time to rest and prepare for tomorrow’s decisive battle against Australia,” said Nana, who is currently preparing. She will play against Australia at 10pm on Saturday night and Kimberly Birrell in Hobart on Sunday morning.