Five nations take titles at 2024 ITF Masters World Team Championships
Five different nations took home gold medals after another exciting edition of the ITF Masters World Team Championships (65-70-75-80-85).
After a number of upsets in 2023, there was a mix of serial winners and some unexpected results as the first Masters World Team Championships of 2024 took place in Manavgat, Turkiye.
One of the biggest upsets of 2023 took place in the Kitty Godfree Cup (W65), as Australia pinched the gold medal in a nail-biting deciding doubles match tie-break against the USA. Losing No. 1 and multiple world champion Ros Balodis cost Australia the title in 2024, as the USA regained the trophy with a dominant 3-0 defeat of Great Britain in the final.
In the Britannia Cup (M65), the Aussies captured the gold medal for the third successive year. Masters machine Glenn Busby once more led the line for Australia, who won all three knockout matches in deciding doubles, 2-1, to retain their grip on the M65 event.
France managed a repeat of their 2023 success too, as they defeated Canada to win the Jack Crawford Cup (M70). A nervy encounter saw the two nations split the singles - Keith Porter falling agonisingly short of delivering victory for Canada in a three-set loss to Didier Kaisserian. The pair of Kaisserian and Marc Renoult delivered the title for France, defeating Brian Millar and Porter 6-3 6-2 to claim the gold.
Winning matches 2-1 proved a theme of finals day. The Australian women's 70 team won by that scoreline in both the semi-final and final of the Althea Gibson Cup, upsetting the USA to lift the trophy. An exhilarating tie included an unfortunate retirement for Australia's Adrienne Avis at 5-5 in the third set against Tina Karwasky, before Sally Van Rensburg levelled the match with a straight-sets win over Una Davis. In the deciding doubles, a topsy-turvy match culminated in a thrilling victory for Van Rensburg and Helen Worland over Jan-Kirkland and Elizabeth Kuhle 5-7 6-2 10-7.
In the Queens Cup (W75), Great Britain claimed their sole title of the 2024 World Team Championships. Following the trend of the day, all three semi-final and final matches went to a deciding doubles rubber. Great Britain defeated the USA 2-1 in the last four, before going on to beat France in the final in a heartbreaker for the French team. Gail Benedetti got the French off to a flying start, before Marjory Love won a brutal contest 7-6 3-6 7-5 to level the match. Love and Christine Windmill teamed up to win the doubles 6-2 2-6 10-8 to seal the crown in a rollercoaster match.
Canada performed above expectations to break the recent monopoly of Spain on the Bitsy Grant Cup (M75). Italy beat the defending champions in the semi-finals, while Canada beat the USA 2-1 to set-up an exciting final. Tim Griffin and Chris Burr dominated their singles matches to win the gold medal for Canada.
USA returned to winning ways in the Gardnar Mulloy Cup (M80), defeating France and Zimbabwe 3-0 in an impressive team performance. The American team of Fred Drilling, Jody Rush, Jimmy Parker and Dean Corley are formidable and have established a stranglehold over the event in recent years. A special mention must go to Zimbabwe, who performed significantly above their seeding to finish runner-up - and become the sole African men's team to get on the podium in the process.
The Doris Hart Cup (W80), meanwhile, saw France crowned champions with comfortable wins over Australia and Great Britain. France defended their title from 2023 in a repeat of last year's final against Great Britain. Sylvie Galfard Kirsten and Michele Bichon proved too strong in singles, winning their matches over Susan Hill and Frances MacLennan, respectively, to secure another victory.
The USA men brought home the gold medal with a 2-1 victory over Germany in the Lorne Main Cup (M85). The Germans came so close to upsetting top seeds and serial Lorne Main Cup winners USA in an exciting final, but eventually fell just short. Jerald Hayes and Donald Mathias beat Herbert Althaus and Horst Haetti in a thrilling match, 6-4 4-6 10-7, to claim the title.
Last but not least, the USA continued their domination of the Angela Mortimer Cup (W85) with two narrow 2-1 victories. The formidable quartet of Dorothy Wasser, Sheila Palmer, Carol Wood and Mary-Ann Winden retained their title after defeating Germany and Great Britain in extremely close deciding doubles rubbers.
The ITF Masters World Individual Championships follows the team event and runs from 16-23 March.
A full set of results from the each of the cups across the team event are available here: