Fed Cup: former greats become captains

Romanian great Ilie Nastase will captain Romania’s Fed Cup team, one of several leadership changes recently announced in the team competition.

Nastase, a former ATP world No.1 and two-time major winner, will take over from Alina Cercel-Tecsor.

Another former major winner, Yannick Noah, will take over from Amelie Mauresmo as French Fed Cup captain.

Noah, who won at Roland Garros in 1983, adds the Fed Cup captaincy to his leadership of the French Davis Cup team.

Meanwhile, the US have announced a successor to long-serving captain Mary-Joe Fernandez.

Kathy Rinaldi, a former Wimbledon semifinalist who peaked at world No.7 in 1986, will in 2017 take over from Fernandez, who stepped down from the role in October after eight years at the helm.

Rinaldi, 49, takes over an expanded position which will also involve working with Team USA players throughout the WTA season and a much closer liaison with the USTA’s player development.

“Kathy brings a rare combination of skills to the Fed Cup captaincy,” USTA president Katrina Adams said in a statement.

“She was a top-10 player when competing on the WTA Tour and now is a top-flight coach with impeccable credentials.”

Rinaldi won three WTA singles titles and two doubles crowns during a playing career that ended in September 1997.

In 1981, she became at 14 years, 91 days the youngest player to win a match at Wimbledon, a record that stood until 1990.

Great Britain last week announced that Anne Keothavong, a former top 50 player who retired in 2013, will take over the British captaincy from Judy Murray.