RIGA, April  17, 2019

Angelique Kerber is forced to withdraw from the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Play-offs between Germany and Latvia due to illness. Latvia, who contested their maiden tie on home soil against Slovakia in the World Group II opening round, will face Germany for the first time when the pair clash in Riga this weekend.

“I can assure that Angie has done everything to support the team in Riga. The entire team wishes Angie a speedy recovery and that we will see her soon back in the squad,” Germany’s Fed Cup captain Jens Gerlach stated in a press release from the German Tennis Federation (DTB).

“I’m disappointed and sad to miss the Fed Cup tie as I’m suffering from the flu,” Kerber said. “The doctors’ advice was to take a rest over the next couple of days. Even though I cannot be there, I am in contact with the team and I’m sure that the girls will prevail.”

Mona Barthel will join the German line-up as the team’s fifth player. Two-time Fed Cup champions Germany, who lie in joint-seventh place on the all-time list of champions, face a play-off to retain their World Group status, having featured at the competition’s top table for six straight years.