Havana, July 23 (RHC) -- Cuban women returned to the continental Group II of the World Cup of Tennis, by finishing second in the key A of Group III of the Americas, finalized in the last hours in Panama.

Cuba won one of the two disputed promotion slots by winning three out of four matches, with a balance of 8-4 in the partial matches, on clay court.

The team led by Belkis Rodriguez and composed of Roxana Valdez, Yeleidis Luzardo and Yasmin Reyes, only lost (3-0) to Puerto Rico, undefeated leader of the section, with a 4-0 record in the challenges and 11-1 in the matches.

The Cubans and Puerto Ricans were once again as impressive as they had been all week and defeated Panama and Jamaica, respectively.

Both successes ensured their return to continental Group II, according to the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge website.

Cuba appealed to courage and self-respect to achieve a promotion for which they worked hard. In fact, they earned their place in the final match of Group A, after defeating Barbados.

According to the Billie Jean King Cup, that success propelled them to become even stronger against a Panama team that had the support of their home crowd (in the play-offs).

The Cubans had to come from behind against the locals to return to Group II, a familiar level in the historical results of the tennis players of the largest of the Antilles.

On their way to the next level, where they will play in 2024, the Cubans defeated Barbados 2-1, Bermuda 3-0 and Antigua and Barbuda 3-0 in Panama City.