New Zealand has confirmed its status in Asia Oceania Group I of the Billie Jean King Cup for next year, thanks to a 2-1 win over Chinese Taipei on Friday.
New Zealand came within a whisker of pulling off a big upset in the Billie Jean King Cup tie against hosts China on Thursday, with Erin Routliffe and Lulu Sun losing 6-4 4-6 14-12 to Wang Xinyu and Hanyu Guo.
After the disappointment of losing 3-0 to South Korea on the opening day of the tournament, New Zealand won all three matches against Pacific Oceania on Wednesday, losing just one game across the six sets of tennis.
Playing against South Korea in this Asia/Oceania Group I tournament, New Zealand lost 3-0 at Moon Island Clay Park, suffering defeats in both singles matches and the dead rubber in the doubles.