The first Federation Cup, which is now known as Fed Cup, was played in 1963 with 16 nations at Queen’s Club, London. There was no prize money and no sponsorship for the tournament then. All the teams were expected to bear their own expenses. Despite that, star players like Billie Jean King, Margaret Smith, Lesley Turner and Darlene Hard were some of the renowned players who graced the tennis courts.

The inaugural Federation Cup was a resounding success. The final match was played between Billie Jean King of the USA and Margaret Smith of Australia. Billie Jean King won the match and the Federation Cup went to the United States of America, who had defeated Australia in the final.

However, in the following year, Australia took the sweet revenge of their defeat in the final by clinching the Federation Cup in 1964. That year, Margaret Smith had shown the door to Billie Jean King.

Match Format

With time things started to change for Fed Cup or Federation Cup as then known. The first sponsor for Fed Cup was Colgate Group, who joined them in 1976. Then, it was Japanese firm NEC who sponsored the event from 1981 to 1994.

However, with sponsorship and with wide coverage, the number of participating nations also grew. The tournament that started with 16 nations in 1963 now in 2007 attracts 82 nations eager to lift the coveted Fed Cup for their countries.

So far 11 nations have lifted the Fed Cup since its inception. The USA has won the Fed Cup for the maximum number of times. They won it 17 times followed by Australia, who won it 7 times.

Czechoslovakia and Spain have won it 5 times each, where as Germany had managed to lift the Cup 3 times. Other nations that bagged the Fed Cup are:

Nations Number of titles

France 2

Russia 2

Belgium 1

Italy 1

Slovak Republic 1

South Africa 1