The Davis Cup is an annual international team event in men's tennis. Established in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, it is run by World Tennis, who describe it as the "World Cup of tennis." The first event in 1900 was a match between Great Britain and the United States, while 135 nations entered the 2016 Davis Cup.
The tournament sees players competing for their country in four singles and one doubles matches, known as rubbers, over the course of three days, with the team that wins three rubbers progressing. The countries are divided into groups based upon their location or performance in previous years. The Davis Cup World Group is the top level of the competition and features matches between players from the top 16 countries at the start of the year. Countries that lose their first round match face a relegation play-off against winning countries from the continental zones. World Group winning countries progress to the quarter-finals. Nations have to win a further three ties in order to claim the position of Davis Cup champions. The United States are the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with 32 victories. Australia are second with 28 (individually or in a combined Australasia team) and Great Britain and France are tied for third with 10. Teams from Europe have won the competition the most with 50 victories, followed by North America with 33 and Oceania with 28.
History The Davis Cup was founded in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. Four members of Harvard University wished to challenge Great Britain in a tennis competition. One of the American players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered a sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low for approximately $1,000. The first match, held at Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts, was won by the American team 3–0. There was no match the following year, but the United States retained the trophy in 1902, beating Great Britain 3–2. This was followed by four successive victories for Britain, from 1903 to 1906. The 1904 Davis Cup saw new teams compete for the first time, as Belgium and France entered.
Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) became the first victors outside of Britain and the United States when they won the tournament in 1907. No tournament was held in 1910 as no country challenged Australasia, who retained the trophy until 1912 when they were defeated by Great Britain. The United States and Australasia won the two competitions prior to the outbreak of the First World War, in 1914. The tournament resumed in 1919, with Australasia retaining the trophy, beating Great Britain 4–1. The Americans won the following seven tournaments before they were defeated 3–2 by France in 1927. The tournament underwent restructuring for the 1923 edition. Teams were split into two zones; the 'America Zone' and 'Europe Zone', with the winners playing each other to determine who would face the defending champions.
The French won a further five successive tournaments before they were beaten 3–2 by Great Britain in 1933. Australia were the last winners before the onset of the Second World War. They beat the United States 3–2 in 1939. Upon resumption of the tournament in 1946, it was renamed the Davis Cup after the death of Dwight D. Davis in 1945. The United States regained the title after they beat Australia 5–0. They retained the title until 1950 when Australia won 4–1. This marked the start of Australian dominance of the Davis Cup, as they only lost three times from 1950 to 1967. Prior to 1972, the champion received a bye directly to the final.
The 1974 Davis Cup marked the first time that neither Australia or the United States won the final since 1936, as South Africa and India were the finalists. However, the Indian team refused to travel to South Africa in protest at the South African government's apartheid policies, meaning that the final was scratched and South Africa were awarded the Davis Cup. Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2 the following year to become the first European nation since 1936 to win the Davis Cup.
The Davis Cup underwent further reorganisation in 1981 when a 16-team World Group was introduced. The remaining nations were split into regional groups with promotion and relegation to and from the World Group.
Sweden reached two more finals in 1988 and 1989, but lost both times to West Germany. The United States regained the title in 1990, but they lost 3–1 to France the following year. They regained the title a year later, but could not defend it in 1993 as Germany won. Sweden were victorious in 1994, and they won a further two Davis Cups in 1997 and 1998. Australia regained the Davis Cup in 1999, but they lost the following two finals to Spain and France respectively. Russia won their first Davis Cup in 2002, before Australia regained the title the following year. Spain won the tournament for the second time in 2004, and would win a further three titles in 2008, 2009 and 2011. The Czech Republic won successive Davis Cups in 2012 and 2013, before Switzerland won their first title in 2014. In 2015, Great Britain ended the longest drought in the competition's history, 73 years, when they won their first Davis Cup since 1936, beating Belgium 3–1. The Davis Cup was not played in 1940-1945 due to World War II.
Finals +Key*Title won by away countryGGrassCClayCPCarpetHHardIxIndoor
The "Year" column refers to the year the Davis Cup tournament was held, and wikilinks to the article about that tournament. Links in the "Winners" and "Runners-up" columns point to the articles for the national teams of the countries, not the articles for the countries.
Key ‡ † ◊
+Davis Cup finals Year Winner Score Runner-up Finals venue (surface) Location1900 ◊3–0Longwood Cricket Club (G)Boston, United States1902 ◊3–2Crescent Athletic Club (G)New York City, United States1903 ◊4–1*Longwood Cricket Club (G)Boston, United States1904 †5–0Worple Road (G)London, United Kingdom1905 †5–0Queen's Club (G)London, United Kingdom1906 †5–0Worple Road (G)London, United Kingdom1907 ‡3–2*Worple Road (G)London, United Kingdom1908 †3–2Albert Ground (G)Melbourne, Australia1909 †5–0Double Bay Grounds (G)Sydney, Australia1911 †4–0Lancaster Park (G)Christchurch, New Zealand1912 ‡3–2*Albert Ground (G)Melbourne, Australia1913 ‡3–2*Worple Road (G)London, United Kingdom1914 ‡3–2*West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1919 ‡4–1Double Bay Grounds (G)Sydney, Australia1920 ‡5–0*Domain Cricket Club (G)Auckland, New Zealand1921 †5–0West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1922 †4–1West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1923 †4–1West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1924 †5–0Germantown Cricket Club (G)Philadelphia, United States1925 †5–0Germantown Cricket Club (G)Philadelphia, United States1926 †4–1Germantown Cricket Club (G)Philadelphia, United States1927 ‡3–2*Germantown Cricket Club (G)Philadelphia, United States1928 †4–1Stade Roland Garros (C)Paris, France1929 †3–2Stade Roland Garros (C)Paris, France1930 †4–1Stade Roland Garros (C)Paris, France1931 †3–2Stade Roland Garros (C)Paris, France1932 †3–2Stade Roland Garros (C)Paris, France1933 ‡3–2*Stade Roland Garros (C)Paris, France1934 †4–1Centre Court, Wimbledon (G)London, United Kingdom1935 †5–0Centre Court, Wimbledon (G)London, United Kingdom1936 †3–2Centre Court, Wimbledon (G)London, United Kingdom1937 ‡4–1*Centre Court, Wimbledon (G)London, United Kingdom1938 †3–2Germantown Cricket Club (G)Philadelphia, United States1939 ‡3–2*Merion Cricket Club (G)Haverford, United States1946 ‡5–0*Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia1947 †4–1West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1948 †5–0West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1949 †4–1West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1950 ‡4–1*West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1951 †3–2White City Stadium (G)Sydney, Australia1952 †4–1Memorial Drive Tennis Club (G)Adelaide, Australia1953 †3–2Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia1954 ‡3–2*White City Stadium (G)Sydney, Australia1955 ‡5–0*West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1956 †5–0Memorial Drive Tennis Club (G)Adelaide, Australia1957 †3–2Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia1958 ‡3–2*Milton Courts (G)Brisbane, Australia1959 ‡3–2*West Side Tennis Club (G)New York City, United States1960 †4–1White City Stadium (G)Sydney, Australia1961 †5–0Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia1962 †5–0Milton Courts (G)Brisbane, Australia1963 ‡3–2*Memorial Drive Tennis Club (G)Adelaide, Australia1964 ‡3–2*Harold Clark Courts (C)Cleveland, United States1965 †4–1White City Stadium (G)Sydney, Australia1966 †4–1Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia1967 †4–1Milton Courts (G)Brisbane, Australia1968 ‡4–1*Memorial Drive Tennis Club (G)Adelaide, Australia1969 †5–0Harold Clark Courts (H)Cleveland, United States1970 †5–0Harold Clark Courts (H)Cleveland, United States1971 †3–2Olde Providence Racquet Club (C)Charlotte, United States19723–2*Club Sportiv Progresul (C)Bucharest, Romania19735–0*Public Auditorium (ICp)Cleveland, United States197419753–2Kungliga tennishallen (ICp)Stockholm, Sweden19764–1*Estadio Nacional (C)Santiago, Chile19773–1White City Stadium (G)Sydney, Australia19784–1Mission Hills CC (H)Rancho Mirage, United States19795–0Civic Auditorium (ICp)San Francisco, United States19804–1Sportovní Hala (ICp)Prague, Czechoslovakia19813–1Riverfront Coliseum (ICp)Cincinnati, United States19824–1*Palais des Sports (IC)Grenoble, France19833–2Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia19844–1Scandinavium (IC)Gothenburg, Sweden19853–2*Olympiahalle (ICp)Munich, West Germany19863–2Kooyong Stadium (G)Melbourne, Australia19875–0Scandinavium (IC)Gothenburg, Sweden19884–1*Scandinavium (IC)Gothenburg, Sweden19893–2Schleyerhalle (ICp)Stuttgart, West Germany19903–2Suncoast Dome (IC)St. Petersburg, United States19913–1Palais des Sports de Gerland (ICp)Lyon, France19923–1Tarrant County Center (IH)Fort Worth, United States19934–1Messe Düsseldorf Exhibition Hall (IC)Düsseldorf, Germany19944–1*Olympic Stadium (ICp)Moscow, Russia19953–2*Olympic Stadium (IC)Moscow, Russia19963–2*Malmö Isstadion (IH)Malmö, Sweden19975–0Scandinavium (ICp)Gothenburg, Sweden19984–1*Forum (IC)Milan, Italy19993–2*Acropolis Exhibition Hall (IC)Nice, France20003–1Palau Sant Jordi (IC)Barcelona, Spain20013–2*Rod Laver Arena (G)Melbourne, Australia20023–2*Palais Omnisports (IC)Paris, France20033–1Rod Laver Arena (G)Melbourne, Australia20043–2Estadio de La Cartuja (IC)Seville, Spain20053–2*Sibamac Arena (IH)Bratislava, Slovakia20063–2Olympic Stadium (ICp)Moscow, Russia20074–1Memorial Coliseum (IH)Portland, United States20083–1*Polideportivo Islas Malvinas (IH)Mar del Plata, Argentina20095–0 Palau Sant Jordi (IC)Barcelona, Spain20103–2Belgrade Arena (IH)Belgrade, Serbia20113–1Estadio de La Cartuja (IC)Seville, Spain20123–2O2 Arena (IH)Prague, Czech Republic20133–2*Kombank Arena (IH)Belgrade, Serbia20143–1*Stade Pierre-Mauroy (IC)Lille, France20153–1*Flanders Expo (IC)Ghent, Belgium20163–2*Arena Zagreb (IH)Zagreb, Croatia20173–2Stade Pierre-Mauroy (IH)Lille, France20183–1*Stade Pierre-Mauroy (IC)Lille, France20192–0Caja Mágica (IH)Madrid, Spain2020-21 RTF2–0Madrid Arena (IH)Madrid, Spain20222–0Martin Carpena Arena (IH)Málaga, Spain20232–0Martin Carpena Arena (IH)Málaga, Spain20242–0Martin Carpena Arena (IH)Málaga, Spain20252–0SuperTennis Arena Bologna Fiere (IH)Bologna, Italy
Victories by team
All-time CountryTitlesFirstLast3219002007281907200310190320151019272017719751998620002019419762025319802013319881993 RTF3200220212200520181 19741 2010 1 2014 1 2016 1 2022
Since 1972 CountryTitlesFirstLast919722007719751998619732003620002019419912017419762025319802013319881993 RTF3200220212200520181 19741 2010 1 2014 1 2015 1 2016 1 2022
Victories by continent ContinentWinsEurope50North America33Oceania28South America1Africa1
See also List of Billie Jean King Cup champions Hopman Cup finals by year