NAGOYA — On Oct. 13, 1985, Czechoslovakia led by Hana Mandlikova and Helena Sukova defeated the United States at the Nagoya Green Tennis Club to win the Fed Cup for the third consecutive time. The defending champions clinched the title with singles wins over Kathy Jordan and Elise Burgin, completing a week-long, 40-team event held in one location, with the Americans competing without world No. 1 Martina Navratilova and world No. 2 Chris Evert.
Mandlikova arrived in Nagoya after beating Evert and Navratilova consecutively to win the US Open final 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 in New York in September, and she did not drop a set before the semifinals. Czechoslovakia advanced despite a second-round scare when Sukova lost to Lilian Drescher against Canada. In the semifinals against Bulgaria, Mandlikova rallied past world No. 7 Manuela Maleeva 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, while Sukova fell to 16-year-old Katerina Maleeva, then world No. 28. Mandlikova and Sukova then won the deciding doubles 6-3, 7-6 to reach the final.
The final proved more straightforward than the semifinal. Mandlikova and Sukova each won their singles matches against world No. 19 Kathy Jordan and world No. 27 Elise Burgin to seal the victory, before Andrea Holikova and Regina Marsikova dropped the dead doubles 6-2, 6-3. The title was Czechoslovakia's third straight after victories in 1983 and 1984, again anchored by three-time Grand Slam champion Mandlikova and world No. 8 Sukova.
Mandlikova, born in 1962, had claimed her first title in Barcelona in 1979 over Sabina Simmonds 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, then won the Australian Open in 1980 over Wendy Turnbull 6-0, 7-5 and Roland-Garros in 1981 over Silvia Hanika 6-2, 6-4 after beating Evert 7-5, 6-4 in the semifinals. She would later lose the Wimbledon final in 1986 to Navratilova 7-6, 6-3 before beating her in the 1987 Australian Open final 7-5, 7-6, and retired in 1990. Sukova, born in 1965, reached four Grand Slam finals without a title, including losses to Evert at the 1984 Australian Open 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 and to Navratilova at the 1986 US Open 6-3, 6-2, and retired in 1998.