Venezuela out of Fed Cup

CARACAS: Venezuela, which is in the throes of a major economic crisis, on Tuesday announced its withdrawal from Fed Cup competition in 2018,

saying it did not have the “necessary resources” to participate.

The move by the Venezuelan Tennis Federation means that the country will be relegated to Americas Group2 next year. In a statement, the federation said it would not be attending the Americas Group I round-robin event on February 7-10 in Asuncion, at which it was to face off with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and host Paraguay. It said the team could not compete after not receiving any word from the country’s sports ministry, which was responsible for approving payment of the foreign currency needed to attend.