For the first time, preliminary rounds were used in every zone, effectively giving byes through the first two rounds of competition to the previous year's finalists from the American and Eastern zones, and to the previous year's semifinalists from the European zones.

This year's competition also marked the first time that professional tennis players were allowed to compete.

[1] The United States defeated Chile in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, Australia defeated India in the Eastern Zone final, and Czechoslovakia and Romania were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating the Soviet Union and Italy respectively.

Australia then defeated the United States in the final, breaking the defending champions' five-year winning run.

The final was held at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, United States on 30 November-2 December.