NAGOYA — On 13 October 1985, Czechoslovakia were crowned Fed Cup champions for the third consecutive year after defeating the United States in the final at the Nagoya Green Tennis Club in Japan. Led by Hana Mandlikova and Helena Sukova, the defending champions sealed the title against an American side missing their biggest stars, world No 1 and world No 2 Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
The 1985 edition was staged under the competition's original format, with 40 teams contesting the title across one week at a single venue. Czechoslovakia arrived as double defending champions, having lifted the trophy in 1983 and 1984 behind Mandlikova, the three-time Grand Slam champion, and the rising Sukova, then world No 8. Mandlikova had arrived in Nagoya fresh from triumph at Flushing Meadows in September, where she beat Evert and Navratilova consecutively to claim her third major with a 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 victory over Navratilova in the final.
Mandlikova did not drop a set before the semi-finals, crushing her first three opponents, while the only early scare came in the second round against Canada when Sukova fell to Lilian Drescher. The semi-final against Bulgaria proved the sternest test. Mandlikova recovered to defeat world No 7 Manuela Maleeva 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, but Sukova lost to 16-year-old Katerina Maleeva, then world No 28. The tie was decided in doubles, where Mandlikova and Sukova prevailed 6-3, 7-6 to reach the final.
The final itself was more straightforward. Mandlikova defeated world No 19 Kathy Jordan and Sukova beat world No 27 Elise Burgin in singles to secure the trophy, before Andrea Holikova and Regina Marsikova stepped in for the dead doubles rubber, which they lost 6-2, 6-3. The semi-final against Bulgaria had proved harder than the final, but Czechoslovakia had once again shown their depth to clinch the title.
Mandlikova, born in 1962 and renowned for her variety and one-handed backhand, would reach two further Grand Slam finals — losing to Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1986 7-6, 6-3 before gaining revenge at the 1987 Australian Open 7-5, 7-6 — and won her last tournament in Washington in March 1987 before retiring in 1990. Sukova, born in 1965, would contest four major singles finals without lifting the trophy, including defeats to Evert at the 1984 Australian Open 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, to Navratilova at the 1986 US Open 6-3, 6-2, and to Steffi Graf in Melbourne in 1989 6-4, 6-4 and at the US Open in 1993 6-3, 6-2, before retiring in 1998.