Serena and Venus Williams, newly recovered from injury, will lead the U.S. in their Fed Cup first-round tie against Slovenia next month, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Thursday.
Also picked for the April 24-25 tie in Portoroz, Slovenia were 47-year-old Martina Navratilova and her doubles partner Lisa Raymond.
Playing her first competitive event since winning Wimbledon last July, Serena Williams will return to action this week at the Nasdaq-100 in Miami.
The 14-times Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medallist's return to the courts was delayed several times while she recovered from knee surgery.
Venus Williams has also made a hesitant return from an abdominal injury, missing much of last season and playing just six matches this season.
There will be no lack of experience on the U.S. squad, with 28 Grand Slam singles titles, 61 doubles titles and 456 WTA tour titles between the four players.
The tie will also mark Zina Garrison's debut as U.S. captain.
"Playing on foreign turf is never easy, but with such strong team members and some of the sport's top players -- we look forward to the challenge," Garrison said.
The U.S. will play Slovenia outdoors on clay in Portoroz with the winner of the best-of-five tie advancing to face either Slovakia or Austria in the quarter-finals in July.
This first-round clash marks the first meeting between the two countries
The U.S. have won a record 17 Fed Cup championships -- more than any other nation -- but failed to add to that total last year when they reached the final in Moscow losing to France.
