World Group play-offs
First round
Dates: 28–29 April
The winners of Zonal Competition from the last year (Argentina, Hungary, Japan) were randomly drawn against five teams from the 2000 World Group pools. The winners were guaranteed a spot in the World Group next year.
| Venue | Surface | Home team | Score | Visiting team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bassano del Grappa, Italy | Indoor carpet |  Italy | 4–1 |  Croatia |
| Tokyo, Japan | Indoor hard |  Japan | 1–4 |  Argentina |
| Bratislava, Slovakia | Outdoor clay |  Slovakia | 4–1 |  Hungary |
| Adelaide, Australia | Outdoor grass |  Australia | 5–0 |  Austria |
Second Rounds
Dates: 21–22 July
The winners of the first round played off against four other teams from the 2000 World Group pools, with the winners proceeding to the World Group. The losers of the first round played off against this year's zonal competition winners, with the winners remaining in World Group for next year, and the losers proceeding to Zonal Competition for next year.
| First Round | Score | Challenger |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1–4 |  France |
| Argentina | 4–1 |  Germany |
| Slovakia | 2–3 |  Russia |
| Australia | 4–1 |  Switzerland |
| First Round | Score | Zonal Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 4–1 |  Venezuela |
| Japan | 2–3 |  Sweden |
| Hungary | 3–0 |  Israel |
| Austria | 3–2 |  Indonesia |
Note: Germany, as the highest-ranked of the 2nd round losers in the ITF's Fed Cup rankings, replaced the defending champions United States in the World Group after the US withdrew citing security risks following the September 11 attacks.
