Chanel Simmonds (left) and Madrie le Roux won the decisive doubles rubber to earn Fed Cup promotion. Photo by Tennis South Africa
The South African team will move from the bottom tier of the Fed Cup after beating Malta 2-1 in their promotion playoff tie in Montenegro on Thursday.
The women’s side had been in serious decline over the last few years, suffering relegation two seasons in a row as they tumbled from the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 division in 2016 to the lowest tier in 2018.
The South Africans started the tie against Malta on the back foot, with Katie Poluta suffering a comprehensive 6-1 6-0 defeat to Francesca Curmi.
Poluta made an otherwise impressive Fed Cup debut, winning her first two rubbers of the Group 3 tournament.
But it was stalwart Chanel Simmonds who came through when it mattered most, winning her singles rubber.
The 25-year-old Simmonds beat Malta’s Elaine Genovese 6-1 7-6 (1) to level the tie at 1-1.
She then combined with Madrie le Roux for a dominant display against Genovese and Curmi, winning the first set 6-1 after just 24 minutes.
The doubles rubber lasted 49 minutes in total as they swept past their Maltese opponents, taking the second set 6-1 to gain promotion.
South Africa v Malta results:
Singles
Katie Poluta (RSA) lost to Francesca Curmi (MLT) 1-6 0-6
Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt Elaine Genovese (MLT) 6-1 7-6(1)
Doubles
Madrie Le Roux / Chanel Simmonds (RSA) bt Francesca Curmi / Elaine Genovese (MLT) 6-1 6-1