The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 1981.^[1] It was the first edition of the newly-formed 16-team World Group and a move to a tiered system including promotion and relegation. The original 16 teams to compete were chosen through the previous year's results, with teams that reached the 1980 Zonal semifinals chosen to compete in the inaugural bracket. The first-round losers would play in the Davis Cup World Group Relegation Play-offs, with the four losers relegated to their respective Zonal competitions the following year and replaced by the four winners of the current year's Zonal competitions.^[2][3]

Quick Facts Date, Edition ...

1981 Davis Cup World Group
Date	6 March – 13 December
Edition	1st
Champions
United States
Davis Cup · 1982 →

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Czechoslovakia were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The United States won the title, defeating Argentina in the final, 3–1. The final was held at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States from 11 to 13 December.^[4] It was the US team's 27th Davis Cup title overall.

The first-round losers played in the Relegation Play-offs. The winners of the play-offs advanced to the 1982 Davis Cup World Group, and the losers were relegated to their respective Zonal Regions.

Results summary

Date: 2–4 October

More information Home team, Score ...

Home team	Score	Visiting team	Location	Surface	Ref.
Brazil	2–3	West Germany	São Paulo	Clay	[19]
Italy	4–1	South Korea	Sanremo	Clay	[20]
France	4–1	Japan	Paris	Clay	[21]
Mexico	3–2	Switzerland	Tijuana	Clay	[22]

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•  France,  Italy,  Mexico and  West Germany remain in the World Group in 1982.
•  Brazil,  Japan,  South Korea and   Switzerland are relegated to Zonal competition in 1982.

Brazil vs. West Germany

More information Brazil 2, West Germany 3 ...

Brazil 2	São Paulo, Brazil[19] 2–4 October 1981 Clay		West Germany 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Thomaz Koch Ulrich Pinner 3 6 3 6 2 6       2 Carlos Kirmayr Peter Elter 7 5 6 2 3 6 6 2     3 Marcos Hocevar / Carlos Kirmayr Hans-Dieter Beutel / Christoph Zipf 8 6 4 6 3 6 11 13     4 Carlos Kirmayr Ulrich Pinner 6 2 11 13 21 19 6 3     5 Thomaz Koch Peter Elter 5 7 5 7 3 6

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Italy vs. South Korea

More information Italy 4, South Korea 1 ...

Italy 4	Sanremo, Italy[20] 2–4 October 1981 Clay		South Korea 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Corrado Barazzutti Lee Woo-ryong 6 0 6 2 6 3       2 Adriano Panatta Kim Choon-ho 6 4 6 4 7 5       3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Kim Choon-ho / Song Dong-wook 6 2 7 5 6 4       4 Corrado Barazzutti Kim Choon-ho 6 2 6 8 2 6 6 2 1 6   5 Gianni Ocleppo Jeon Chang-dae 6 3 8 10 6 3 6 4

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France vs. Japan

More information France 4, Japan 1 ...

France 4	Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France[21] 2–4 October 1981 Clay		Japan 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Gilles Moretton Tsuyoshi Fukui 6 1 6 4       retired   2 Thierry Tulasne Shinichi Sakamoto 6 0 6 0 6 0       3 Yannick Noah / Christophe Roger-Vasselin Tsuyoshi Fukui / Toru Yonezawa 8 6 6 2 6 4       4 Christophe Roger-Vasselin Shinichi Sakamoto 6 0 6 4 6 1       5 Thierry Tulasne Tsuyoshi Fukui 6 1 8 6 6 3

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Mexico vs. Switzerland

More information Mexico 3, Switzerland 2 ...

Mexico 3	Tijuana Country Club, Tijuana, Mexico[22] 2–4 October 1981 Clay		Switzerland 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Raúl Ramírez Heinz Günthardt 6 4 6 2 6 1       2 Jorge Lozano Roland Stadler 4 6 6 4 4 6 5 7     3 Jorge Lozano / Raúl Ramírez Heinz Günthardt / Markus Günthardt 3 6 6 2 6 0 6 1     4 Raúl Ramírez Roland Stadler 6 1 6 2 6 3       5 Juan Hernández Ivan Dupasquier 4 6 4 6

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