Viet Nam's under-16 female tennis team is set to compete in the final round of the Asian-Oceania zone qualifiers for the Fed Cup.

They will take part in the qualifiers for the first time from April 24 to 29 in Australia.

The event, launched by the International Tennis Federation, is now the world's largest annual global women's team competition.

Earlier, Viet Nam finished in third place at the Asia-Oceania pre-qualifying competition in Malaysia at the end of last month. The young players took the second place in group A after losing to China 0-3 and beating Iran 3-0. They then defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 to stand at third position overall.

The three top teams qualify for the final round, which means Viet Nam win a spot alongside fellow qualifiers China and Malaysia.

"It was lucky for us to earn the ticket to the Fed Cup qualification," said coach Nguyen Kim Cuong. "Two out of eight participating teams dropped out so our opportunity to win increased."

"We will face a lot of difficulties in Australia because the final round will pit us against the region's toughest teams. I think this is a good opportunity for the players to gain experience and learn from foreign athletes."

The finals are expected to attract 13 teams, with the top four squads taking part in the world finals in Spain.-VNS