page_title: Fed Cup
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fed Cup / History
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Česká tenistka Petra Kvitová s pohárem pro vítězky Fed Cupu 2011
context_page_description: The Fed Cup is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation. The competition was known as the Federation Cup until 1995. The Fed Cup is the world's largest annual women's international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete. The current Fed Cup Chairperson is Katrina Adams.
  The relatively small nation of Czech Republic dominated the Fed Cup in the 2010s, as the Czechs won six of ten competitions in the decade. The men's equivalent of the Fed Cup is the Davis Cup, and the Czech Republic, Australia and the United States are the only countries to have held both Cups at the same time.
context_section_description: In 1919, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman had an idea for a women's team tennis competition. This was not adopted but she persisted, presenting a trophy at the 1923 annual contest between the United States and Great Britain, named the Wightman Cup.
  Nell Hopman, wife of the legendary Australian Davis Cup Captain Harry Hopman, later took up Mrs Wightman's original idea. In 1962, a British resident of the United States, Mary Hardwick Hare, presented a dossier proving that support for such an event was overwhelming, persuading the ITF that it was a 'good idea' to have a team championship played over one week in a different venue each year. 40 years after Wightman's idea of a women's Davis Cup, it became a reality. In 1963, the ITF launched the Federation Cup to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Open to all nations the competition became a resounding success.
  The inaugural event attracted 16 countries. The competition was supported by the top players right from the start. Held at the Queen's Club, in London, the first contest was between Australia and the United States.  Grand Slam champions Darlene Hard, Billie Jean King, Margaret Smith and Lesley Turner all proudly representing their country on court. The United States would emerge the champion nation in the opening year. However, it was to be Australia in the early years, winning seven of the next eleven championships. Around 1980 the United States was able to establish some significant mark on the competition setting in future years a very high standard for others to compete against.
  The first Federation Cup had attracted 16 entry teams, despite no prize money and teams having to meet their own expenses. When sponsorship became available, the number of teams expanded dramatically, first by the Colgate Group in 1976, and, from 1981 to 1994 by the Japanese communications and computer giant NEC. In 1994, there were 73 nations competing, with the host nation of a Federation Cup week was now being required to build a special tennis complex, giving rise to what became known as the Federation Cup "legacy." The additional costs of each event could be offset with the host nations viewing their involvement as providing an  opportunity to boost their national game.
  For the 1992, a regional group qualifying format was introduced. In 1995, the tournament's name was shortened to the Fed Cup, and a new home-and-away format was adopted as trialled by the Davis Cup, so that women could play for their country in their own country. There have been a number of smaller changes to the format since 1995. The format change implemented in 2005 incorporates an eight Nation World Group I and eight nation World Group II both playing home-and-away over three weekends throughout the year. Three regional groups compete and there are promotions and relegations based on results.
caption: Petra Kvitová with the trophy for the Fed Cup winners, 2011, Moscow
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