Davis Cup 2026: Meet the Norway team set to take on the Brits
• 3 minute read
The Lexus Great Britain team will get their 2026 Davis Cup campaign underway with a Qualifier first round tie against Norway at the Nadderud Arena in Oslo.
The Brits must win if they are to progress to the Qualifiers second round in September, where a meeting against either Australia or Ecuador awaits.
Lexus GB Team Captain Leon Smith has named a strong team ahead of the battle - including British No.1 Jack Draper, Cam Norrie, Jacob Fearnley and reigning Wimbledon champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
Meanwhile, Anders Haseth's Norweigan team features 14-time ATP titleholder Casper Ruud and rising star Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, who will be hoping to lead their nation to victory.
With the tie just a couple of days away, take a look at which players will line-up for Norway and find out more about GB’s opponents:
2026 Norway Davis Cup team:
- Casper Ruud
- Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
- Viktor Durasovic
- Andreja Petrovic
- Lukas Hellum Lilleengen
Casper Ruud
- Age: 27
- Singles ranking: 12
- Doubles ranking: N/A
- Davis Cup record: 29-11
Ruud has long been an established player in the ATP’s top 20, and reached as high as world No.2 in the singles rankings (2022) - making him the highest-ranked Norwegian player in history.
The 27-year-old has represented Norway in 17 Davis Cup ties since making his debut in 2015 and will arrive with an impressive 29-11 win record at the tournament, including 22 singles victories.
Ruud also enjoyed a standout 2025 season which saw him finally capture his maiden Masters 1000 title in Madrid – beating Draper in the final – before rounding off the year by winning the ATP 250 title in Stockholm.
The world No.12 will have form on his side coming into their meeting against the Brits, having recently made the fourth round at the Australian Open. Ruud could face former world No.4 Draper and British No.2 Norrie – both of which he is leading in the head-to-head.
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
- Age: 19
- Singles ranking: 133
- Doubles ranking: 1187
- Davis Cup record: 4-4
Kjaer is one of the most exciting rising stars in the men’s game. The 19-year-old is a former junior world No.1 and made history in becoming the first Norwegian man to win a Grand Slam title at the professional or junior level after winning the Wimbledon boys' singles trophy in 2024. He also won the Roland Garros boys' doubles title that same year.
Kjaer continued to build on his successful junior career and last year, embarked on a breakthrough year on the ATP Challenger Tour where he lifted four titles. As a result Kjaer rose a remarkable 464 places in the ATP rankings to end the year at world No.135.
Like Ruud, Kjaer had an memorable run down under by his own standards – fighting through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time in his young career.
While he may be short on tour-level experience, Kjaer has represented Norway in four Davis Cup ties and knows exactly what it takes to win having clinched four victories for his country so far.
Viktor Durasovic
- Age: 28
- Singles ranking: 313
- Doubles ranking: 491
- Davis Cup record: 15-14
In terms of number of Davis Cup ties played, Durasovic comes in as Norway’s most experienced player having competed in 23 ties since making his debut 12 years ago.
The 28-year-old is a regular competitor on the ATP Challenger Tour and last year won his maiden singles title at the Challenger 75 event in Nottingham – adding to his two previous Challenger doubles titles he collected in 2022. He has also has four ITF singles and four doubles titles to his name.
When it comes to Davis Cup, Durasovic has gained plenty of experience competing in both singles and doubles rubbers, and has frequently played alongside Ruud where the duo have won three of their last four matches together.
Andreja Petrovic
- Age: 26
- Singles ranking: 869
- Doubles ranking: 1660
- Davis Cup record: 0-1
Petrovic is the least experienced Davis Cup player in the Norway team having played in just one tie so far. His only appearance came during the 2023 Qualifiers where he lost out to former world No.27 Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-3 during their clash against Serbia.
Since then, the 26-year-old has been competing on the ITF circuit and finished his 2025 season in strong fashion by reaching the final of the M25 event in Austin. Petrovic fought through qualifying tor reach the main draw before battling his way to the final where he fell short in a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to rising British star Lui Maxted.
Lukas Hellum Lilleengen
- Age: 25
- Singles ranking: 1933
- Doubles ranking: 452
- Davis Cup record: 1-2
Completing Haseth’s Norwegian team is Hellum Lilleengen, who comes in as the team’s highest ranked doubles player and will be an option to contest the doubles rubber.
The 25-year-old has two ITF doubles titles to his name – both of which he picked up in 2024 alongside compatriot Durasovic. The pair also joined forces for the doubles rubber against Chinese Taipei in September’s Davis Cup World Group I tie but narrowly lost out in a close battle to Jason Jung and Ray Ho.
Hellum Lilleengen last took to the match court in November and could be set to kick-start his season against the Brits should he be selected to play in Oslo.
Find out more about the upcoming tie between Great Britain and Norway:
