New Zealand defended the America's Cup by defeating Great Britain in the 37th edition of the event.

Ben Ainslie's Ineos Britannia team trailed 6-2 before Saturday's race and needed to win race nine to stay in the best-of-13 series in Barcelona.

But despite the pressure from the British boat, Emirates Team New Zealand secured victory by 37 seconds and took an unassailable lead 7-2.

New Zealand, which won the competition in 2017 and 2021, became the first team to lift the Auld Mug three times in a row since the United States (1987-1992).

Great Britain, who have never won the trophy in the competition's 173-year history, reached the final for the first time since 1964.

“Firstly, I have to give a big shout out to Team New Zealand,” said Great Britain captain Ainslie.

“What a great campaign and team. In my opinion they are the best team ever in the America's Cup.”

“I can’t thank our team enough for the effort they’ve put in over the years to get us this far.”

“We had our moments in the final, but at the end of the day the better team won.”

He added: “This will not be the end of the journey for us. We set our sights on winning the America's Cup ten years ago (and) we get closer every time.”

“The trick is to keep going and bring it home next time.”