Bermuda continues to revel in a historic Davis Cup breakthrough after they secured the final promotion spot to the World Group II Play-offs with a nerve-jangling 2-1 win over Jamaica on the final day of the Americas Group III event at the Costa Rica Country Club.
In a dramatic finish to a week of intense competition, Bermuda’s Richard Mallory and Daniel Phillips etched their names into the nation’s tennis history with a tidy doubles victory over Jamaica in a winner-takes-all clash on Saturday. Their triumph sealed the island’s first-ever promotion to Group II in 30 years of Davis Cup participation.
"This week has been incredible. We have played some of our best doubles. We started strong against Costa Rica, probably our best match in terms of grit and work. Against Aruba, we showed a lot of heart to come back and refused to give up. And today, against Jamaica, we remained solid, with clean serves, sharp volleys, and good, consistent doubles play throughout," Phillips beamed.
"This promotion means everything to me. It's a true honour to represent Bermuda, and I'm proud of the fight the team has shown all week. I can't wait; I want to compete in Group II now. Let's keep it up," he added.
Phillips set the tone with a clinical 6-3, 7-5 victory over Jamaica’s John Chin in the opening singles. However, Blaise Bicknell, unbeaten in singles all week, hit back for the Jamaicans with a determined 7-5, 6-4 win over Mallory to level the tie.
With it all to play for in doubles, Bermuda’s duo rose to the occasion, as they showed composure and chemistry to defeat their Jamaican counterparts and spark celebrations among their team and supporters.
Bolivia and Puerto Rico, who had already secured promotion by topping their respective groups on Friday, also featured in Saturday’s action to determine the overall event winner. Puerto Rico edged the Bolivians 2-1 in the tie. Despite an opening singles win by Bolivia’s Juan Carlos Prado Angelo, a doubles victory from Yannick Alzavez and Jake Fellows sealed bragging rights for the Caribbean side.
Elsewhere, the relegation picture was also finalised, as Aruba and Honduras dropped to Americas Group IV for 2026. Aruba fell 2-0 to Venezuela, while Honduras lost to hosts Costa Rica.