Malaysia at the 2001 Federation Cup

The Federation Cup was initiated so as to create a benchmarking for other women’s tennis players. The first tournament was held between United States and Great Britain in 1963. The participating countries played in the qualifying stage against themselves, resulting from which the entrants to the World group stage were decided. The 2001 championship was the 39th edition of the Federation Cup. Malaysia started its international tennis career in 1989. A total of 90 nations participated in the tournament. Malaysia at the 2001 Federation Cup was one of the average teams.

Malaysia at the 2001 Federation Cup was placed in the Group II of the Asia/Oceania zone. In the first round robin match against Philippines, Malaysia lost by 1-2. The next match however featured Malaysia winning over Syria by 3-0. The third round robin contest also yielded Malaysia as the winner over Sri Lanka by 3-0. Malaysia was however defeated by Hong Kong by 1-2. Also, Malaysia won over Singapore by 3-0. Thus, Malaysia was ousted from the tournament owing to irregular victories.

Malaysia at the 2001 Federation Cup was placed in the Group II of the Asia/Oceania zone with some of the other countries like Fiji, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Syria. Malaysia could not display a well balanced and right kind of performance. Malaysia won its three qualifying round matches against Syria, Sri Lanka and Singapore. However, loosing the crucial ties to Philippines and Hong Kong led to the debacle for the Malaysian players. Irregular and ineffective playing strategy led to the ousting of Malaysia from the 2001 Federation Cup.