'A dream come true': History made as Kuwait selects first girls' team
This week is an extremely significant one in the history of Kuwaiti tennis after the Kuwait Tennis Federation entered a girls’ team into ITF team competition for the first time.
Kuwait are currently competing in a Billie Jean King Cup Juniors pre-qualifying event for the Asia/Oceania region in Kuching, Malaysia and bidding to advance to the next stage of the year-long competition.
Their presence in Kuching is particularly symbolic given International Women’s Day will be marked on Saturday 8 March, when the achievements of women all around the world will be celebrated and championed.
Going forward, Kuwait Tennis Federation hope to enter teams into other ITF team competitions such as ITF World Junior Tennis – the 14-and-under international team event – and Billie Jean King Cup at senior level.
For now, however, sisters Huda and Samou Aldabbous and Nourah Alghanem, together with their captain Rudolf Rossouw, are trailblazers within their nation and forerunners for a new era of tennis in Kuwait.
“Kuwait Tennis Federation is so proud to present a national team of girls to participate in the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors for the first time in Kuwait tennis history – it is a dream come true,” said Abdul Ridha Al-Ghareeb, President of the Kuwait Tennis Federation.
“Our main driving force to field a girls’ team in the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors this year is that we have a distinguished team of girls, who have been trained during the past few years by some of the best coaches at Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait.
“This step goes alongside the policy of the Kuwait Tennis Federation to get more girls and women to play tennis. Our ambition is to have female players – girls and women – competing in different ITF World Tennis Tour events and to enlarge the base of girls and women participating in tennis.”
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For girls in Kuwait – and indeed future generations of players who are yet to pick up a racket – the importance of having a pathway to their national team and to competing at international level should not be underestimated.
“It is always a significant moment when a nation enters a competition for the first time, and the players representing Kuwait will benefit enormously from competing in Billie Jean King Cup Juniors,” said Kelly Fairweather, the ITF’s Chief Executive Officer.
“The ITF’s purpose is to ensure the long-term growth of tennis and improve the game for future generations. Giving players from nations all around the world the platform to continue their development, on and off court, contributes massively to that goal.
“The ITF is also extremely proud of ITF Advantage All and its achievements since launching in 2018. The drive for gender balance continues, but seeing nations make history regarding female representation is an important step.”
Kerstin Lutz, Chief Executive Officer of Billie Jean King Cup Limited, added: “Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge is the largest international women’s team event in sport and a record 146 nations have entered the competition in 2025.
“Many of the players who will be representing their nations this year will have done so at junior level also, and it is always wonderful to see those individuals develop and flourish into star players for their senior national teams.
“It is great to see the steps being taken by the Kuwait Tennis Federation to improve the accessibility of tennis within Kuwait. Providing access to girls to play a sport they love and to see this experience support their development is what the BJKC stands for.
"We wish Kuwait well as they make their debut in the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors and hope to welcome the girls in the BJK Cup in the future.”
The goal of ITF Advantage All is to develop and maintain tennis as an equal advantage sport. Through Advantage All, the ITF is committed to improving gender equality in all areas of the game.
Advantage All aims to ensure tennis is a leading light in sport and society, while empowering, inspiring and enabling women and girls to reach their full potential. More information on ITF Advantage All is available here.