Thousands of athletes + fans will be in town this weekend for the 2018 Fed Cup at the US Cellular Center. This (huge) hometown match is kind of a big deal. (Read: Really big deal).

Fun fact: While this is Asheville’s first time hosting the Fed Cup, the U.S. Fed Cup team is 2-1 all time in the state of North Carolina. 💪 Not much of a tennis buff? Don’t worry, we’ll lob you the facts.

The deets:

Who: Team USA vs Netherlands. U.S. holds a 6-2 head-to-head record over the Netherlands in Fed Cup play. Hey, Venus + Serena. 👋

What: The Fed Cup was founded in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation. It’s come to essentially signify the international playoffs for women's tennis.

DYK: Team USA competed in N.C at the Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte in 2002, at the Raleigh Racquet Club in 1999, and Wilmington at Trask Coliseum in 1995.

18. The number of championships the USA has won. (More titles than any other country). Last year’s win Belarus (their first time) in Minsk marked USA’s first Fed Cup title since 2000.

16 teams are competing in the tournament at 8 different locations around the world, including Romania, Czech Republic, and Australia.

The tournament:

🎾 Saturday: The best-of-five match series will begin with two singles matches.

🎾Sunday: Two reverse singles matches and the doubles match.

🎾The winner of this matchup will then advance to the Fed Cup semifinals which will take place on April 21-22nd. The finals will take place on Nov. 10-11th.

🎾 You can see a livestream of the games + a full schedule here.

🎾 Tickets are on sale through the US Cellular Center and USTA. Tickets range from $30-135. (With very few tickets left). (Times + shuttle info will be posted this week)

What I bet you’re still wondering… Why Asheville?

According to the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission, Asheville has been on the lookout for games to host, especially after North Carolina lost a March Madness NCAA game last year because of HB2. So far, the U.S. Cellular Center has hosted a national youth gymnastic tournament, and will host the 2018 SoCon championships March. (The abundance of things to do + hotels doesn’t hurt).

💰 And, it’s worth it. About $1.5 million is being invested to have the Fed Cup in Asheville and an expected $2.5 million will be brought in. An expected 5000+ visitors will be in attendance, roughly 5000+ hotel accommodations will be made and tickets for the event are almost sold out (good time to Airbnb those houses, right?)

📍 Three other cities were in the running including Orlando.