Sri Lanka competed in its first Davis Cup in 1953 when they took on the Netherlands as Ceylon A first round elimination, kept the nation away for two years until they appeared in the Eastern Asia Zone.

In 1958, the team took their first win in Davis Cup history by defeating Malaysia at Singapore.

This was their only win until 1966 when they once again defeated Malaysia to make into the Zone B final losing to India 5-0.

In 1983, they made it to the quarterfinals of the Eastern Zone after a win over Hong Kong but they continue to struggle and soon was put in the lower division when the Asia-Oceania draw was split into two.

After bungling out in the opening round in 88, Sri Lanka made it to the semifinals between 1989 and 1991.