# 1996 Fed Cup

The 1996 Fed Cup was the 34th edition of a competition between national teams in women's tennis. The final took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the United States on 28–29 September, with the United States defeating Spain to give the USA their 15th title.

## World Group

Participating Teams :
| Argentina | Austria | France | Germany |
| Japan | South Africa | Spain | United States |

### Draw

| Quarterfinals 27–28 April | Quarterfinals 27–28 April | Quarterfinals 27–28 April | Semifinals 13–14 July | Semifinals 13–14 July | Semifinals 13–14 July | Final 28–29 September | Final 28–29 September | Final 28–29 September |
| Murcia, Spain (Outdoor clay) | Murcia, Spain (Outdoor clay) | Murcia, Spain (Outdoor clay) | | | | | | |
| 1 | Spain | 3 | | | | | | |
| 1 | Spain | 3 | Bayonne, France (Indoor carpet) | Bayonne, France (Indoor carpet) | Bayonne, France (Indoor carpet) | | | |
| | South Africa | 2 | Bayonne, France (Indoor carpet) | Bayonne, France (Indoor carpet) | Bayonne, France (Indoor carpet) | | | |
| | South Africa | 2 | 1 | Spain | 3 | | | |
| Amiens, France (Outdoor clay) | Amiens, France (Outdoor clay) | Amiens, France (Outdoor clay) | 1 | Spain | 3 | | | |
| Amiens, France (Outdoor clay) | Amiens, France (Outdoor clay) | Amiens, France (Outdoor clay) | 3 | France | 2 | | | |
| | Argentina | 2 | 3 | France | 2 | | | |
| | Argentina | 2 | | | | Atlantic City, NJ, United States (Indoor carpet) | Atlantic City, NJ, United States (Indoor carpet) | Atlantic City, NJ, United States (Indoor carpet) |
| 3 | France | 3 | | | | Atlantic City, NJ, United States (Indoor carpet) | Atlantic City, NJ, United States (Indoor carpet) | Atlantic City, NJ, United States (Indoor carpet) |
| 3 | France | 3 | | | | 1 | Spain | 0 |
| Tokyo, Japan (Indoor hard) | Tokyo, Japan (Indoor hard) | Tokyo, Japan (Indoor hard) | | | | 1 | Spain | 0 |
| Tokyo, Japan (Indoor hard) | Tokyo, Japan (Indoor hard) | Tokyo, Japan (Indoor hard) | | | | 2 | United States | 5 |
| 4 | Germany | 2 | | | | 2 | United States | 5 |
| 4 | Germany | 2 | Nagoya, Japan (Indoor carpet) | Nagoya, Japan (Indoor carpet) | Nagoya, Japan (Indoor carpet) | | | |
| | Japan | 3 | Nagoya, Japan (Indoor carpet) | Nagoya, Japan (Indoor carpet) | Nagoya, Japan (Indoor carpet) | | | |
| | Japan | 3 | | Japan | 0 | | | |
| Salzburg, Austria (Outdoor clay) | Salzburg, Austria (Outdoor clay) | Salzburg, Austria (Outdoor clay) | | Japan | 0 | | | |
| Salzburg, Austria (Outdoor clay) | Salzburg, Austria (Outdoor clay) | Salzburg, Austria (Outdoor clay) | 2 | United States | 5 | | | |
| | Austria | 2 | 2 | United States | 5 | | | |
| 2 | United States | 3 | | | | | | |

## World Group play-offs

The four losing teams in the World Group first round ties (Argentina, Austria, Germany and South Africa), and four winners of the World Group II ties (Belgium, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Slovakia) entered the draw for the World Group play-offs.
Date: 13–14 July
| Venue | Surface | Home team | Score | Visiting team |
| Pörtschach, Austria | Outdoor clay | Austria | 1–4 | Germany |
| Pilsen, Czech Republic | Indoor carpet | Czech Republic | 3–1 | Argentina |
| Bloemfontein, South Africa | Outdoor hard | South Africa | 1–4 | Belgium |
| Bratislava, Slovakia | Outdoor clay | Slovakia | 2–3 | Netherlands |

## World Group II

The World Group II was the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 1996. Winners advanced to the World Group play-offs, and loser played in the World Group II play-offs.
Date: 27–28 April
| Venue | Surface | Home team | Score | Visiting team |
| Plovdiv, Bulgaria | Outdoor clay | Bulgaria | 0–5 | Slovakia |
| Kampen, Netherlands | Outdoor clay | Netherlands | 4–1 | Australia |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | Outdoor hard | Indonesia | 2–3 | Belgium |
| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Outdoor hard | Canada | 0–3 | Czech Republic |

## World Group II play-offs

The four losing teams from World Group II (Australia, Bulgaria, Canada and Indonesia) played off against qualifiers from Zonal Group I. Two teams qualified from Europe/Africa Zone (Croatia and Switzerland), one team from the Asia/Oceania Zone (South Korea), and one team from the Americas Zone (Chile).
Date: 13–14 July
| Venue | Surface | Home team | Score | Visiting team |
| Aurora, Canada | Outdoor clay | Canada | 2–3 | Australia |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | Outdoor hard | Indonesia | 2–3 | Switzerland |
| Viña del Mar, Chile | Outdoor clay | Chile | 0–5 | Croatia |
| Plovdiv, Bulgaria | Outdoor clay | Bulgaria | 1–4 | South Korea |

## Americas Zone

* Nations in bold advanced to the higher level of competition.
* Nations in italics were relegated down to a lower level of competition.

### Group I

Venue: Club Palestino, Santiago, Chile (outdoor clay)
Dates: 22–28 April

#### Participating Teams

* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Mexico
* Paraguay
* Puerto Rico
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

### Group II

Venue: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (outdoor clay)
Dates: 6–12 May

#### Participating Teams

* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Bermuda
* Bolivia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Jamaica
* Peru
* Trinidad and Tobago

## Asia/Oceania Zone

* Nations in bold advanced to the higher level of competition.
* Nations in italics were relegated down to a lower level of competition.

### Group I

Venue: 700 Years Anniversary Complex, Chiang Mai, Thailand (outdoor hard)
Dates: 21–24 February

#### Participating Teams

* China
* Hong Kong
* India
* Kazakhstan
* Malaysia
* Philippines
* South Korea
* Thailand

### Group II

Venue: 700 Years Anniversary Complex, Chiang Mai, Thailand (outdoor hard)
Dates: 19–24 January

#### Participating Teams

* Brunei
* Chinese Taipei
* New Zealand
* Pacific Oceania
* Singapore
* Syria
* Uzbekistan

## Europe/Africa Zone

* Nations in bold advanced to the higher level of competition.
* Nations in italics were relegated down to a lower level of competition.

### Group I

Venue: La Manga Club, Murcia, Spain (outdoor clay)
Dates: 22–24 April

#### Participating Teams

* Belarus
* Croatia
* Georgia
* Great Britain
* Greece
* Hungary
* Italy
* Latvia
* Norway
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Slovenia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Yugoslavia

### Group II

Venue: Ramat HaSharon, Israel (outdoor hard)
Dates: 25–30 March

#### Participating Teams

* Botswana
* Cyprus
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Ethiopia
* Finland
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Israel
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Macedonia
* Malta
* Poland
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Zimbabwe