The following year , the format for the Fed Cup changed again . The entire competition was played out in November . The three round robin pools were reduced to two and the winners of each pool would contest a final tie for the title . Belgium 's team of Clijsters , Henin , Callens , and Courtois from the 2000 final all returned for 2001 . The United States withdrew before the start of the event , citing security concerns a few months after the September 11 terrorist attacks . With Henin and Clijsters exclusively playing singles , and Callens and Courtois playing doubles , Belgium won all nine of their rubbers against Spain , Germany , and Australia to advance to the final . Facing Russia , Henin defeated Nadia Petrova and Clijsters defeated Elena Dementieva to secure Belgium 's first Fed Cup crown . Courtois commented , " We were never under any pressure , mainly because Kim and Justine were so strong . " While Clijsters and Henin were on the team , Belgium came closest to another Fed Cup triumph in 2006 . In this year , the World Group consisted of eight teams in a knockout tournament . The three rounds were spread out over April , July , and September . Each tie was played as a best-of-five rubbers , with four singles followed by one doubles . In the first round against Russia , both Clijsters and Henin made themselves available and won three out of four singles matches to advance . Although Henin missed the semifinal , Clijsters and Kirsten Flipkens were able to lead Belgium to a victory over the United States , who were also short-handed without Lindsay Davenport or the Williams sisters . However , Clijsters was forced to miss the Fed Cup final due to a wrist injury . Henin and Flipkens returned for the final , which Belgium hosted against Italy . The tie was decided by the doubles rubber , which Belgium lost after Henin aggravated a knee injury she suffered in one of her singles rubbers and needed to retire down 2 – 0 in the third set
September 11 terrorist attacks
September 11 attacks
Kim Clijsters