Fed Cup qualifiers were held in Egypt for the first time but the host failed to capitalise, reports Ghada Abdel-Kader Turkey and Morocco were promoted to the Fed Cup Europe/ Africa Zone Group II after beating out host country Egypt. Under the supervision of the International Tennis Federation, the Egyptian Tennis Federation hosted the Europe/Africa Zone Group III 2010 Fed Cup, the world's most prestigious women's tennis team championship. While many nations enter the Fed Cup each year, only 16 countries qualify for the elite World Group and World Group II each year (eight in World Group and eight in World Group II) playing both home-and-away over three weekends throughout the year. Egypt has been participating in the tournament since 1986 and is ranked 73 in the world. The Fed Cup was launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ITF. The championship, at the Smash Tennis Academy, took place from 21-24 April. The participating countries were Algeria, Ireland, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Turkey and host country Egypt. The championship was being held in Egypt for the first time but the nation failed to make the most of the moment. Championship director Hani Nasser said 10 teams should have been participating "but Angola and Namibia withdrew while Iceland couldn't come due to the volcano eruption." The teams were divided into two round-robin pools. In Group A was Turkey, Moldova and Egypt. Group B had Morocco, Ireland, Malta, and Algeria. The top nation in each pool played off against the runner-up in the opposing pool. Two teams were then promoted to the Europe/Africa Zone Group II in 2011. All the remaining nations played against each other to determine the final positions within the group. In the opening games, Turkey defeated Egypt 3-0 in the Group A. In Group B, Morocco defeated Algeria 3-0. Ireland defeated Malta 3-0. Turkey then defeated Moldova 3-0 in Group A. In Group B, Morocco defeated Algeria 3-0 and Algeria defeated Malta 2-1. Algeria finished fifth in its round-robin group in 2009, a far cry from 1997-2003 when Algeria was placing high in the Europe/Africa Group II. Egypt defeated Moldova 3-0 in Group A. In Group B, Morocco beat Malta 3-0 while Algeria defeated Ireland 2-1. In the promotional play off, Morocco defeated Egypt 2- 0.Turkey defeated Algeria 3-0. In the play off for fifth and sixth place, Ireland defeated Moldova 2-1. The men's equivalent of the Fed Cup is the Davis Cup.
