Beginner’s Guide to the Davis Cup 2026
• 5 minute read
The Davis Cup is unlike any other tournament in men’s tennis. Known as the World Cup of tennis, the tournament was founded in 1900 by Dwight Davis and is the largest annual international team competition in world sport.
Preparations for the upcoming Davis Cup campaign have already begun ahead of this year’s Qualifiers and Play-offs getting underway at the beginning of February.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a beginner’s guide to all the must-know information surrounding this year's tournament, the teams, how it works and Great Britain’s history at the event.
What is the structure of the 2026 Davis Cup?
The 2026 Davis Cup will kick off between 5-9 February with the Qualifiers first round and World Group I and World Group II Play-offs. Each tie will take place across two days and will follow a best-of-five match format.
Qualifiers first round: 26 nations will compete in 13 home-or-away ties across two days. The 13 winning nations will then progress to the Qualifiers second round which takes place later in the year.
World Group I Play-offs: The 13 losing nations that lost their 2025 World Group I tie and the 13 nations who won their 2025 World Group II ties will go head-to-head in home-or-away ties to reach the second round of the Play-offs in September.
World Group II Play-offs: The World Group II Play-offs will be contested by the 13 nations that lost their 2025 World Group II tie and the 13 promoted nations from the 2025 Regional Group III events.
Qualifiers second round: The winning nations of the Qualifiers second round will then progress to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, Italy in November.
Final 8: The seven winning nations from the Qualifiers second round join host nation and reigning champions Italy in Bologna to contest the trophy.
Key Davis Cup 2026 dates
| 5-9 February | Davis Cup Qualifiers first round, World Group I Play-offs & World Group II Play-offs |
| September (date TBC) | Davis Cup Qualifiers second round, World Group I Play-offs & World Group II Play-offs |
| November (date TBC) | Davis Cup Final 8 |
What is the scoring format at the Davis Cup?
Ties in the Davis Cup Qualifiers consist of five matches played over two days: two singles on day one, followed by the doubles and two reverse singles on day two. All matches are the best of three tie-break sets.
Each Davis Cup tie consists of five rubbers – with the winner being the country which wins three or more of the five matches.
The Finals follow a different format – with ties played as a best of three rubbers; two singles and one doubles.
Who won the Davis Cup in 2025?
Italy won a historic third Davis Cup title in 2025, despite being without their highest ranked star, Jannik Sinner. Instead, it was former world No.6 Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli who guided their country to victory with a 2-0 win over Spain.
Berettini produced an impressive performance to down Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4, before Cobolli came back from a set down to beat Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.
Italy also claimed the Davis Cup crown in 2023 and 2024 and is the first country since the United States to win three consecutive titles (1968-1972).
Great Britain lost out in the Davis Cup Qualifier first round against Japan but came through their Play-off tie against Poland to reach the 2026 Qualifers.
Which teams are competing at the Davis Cup 2026?
26 nations are set to compete at the 2026 Qualifiers first round:
- Great Britain
- Norway
- Chile
- Serbia
- Germany
- Peru
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Japan
- Austria
- Canada
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- Australia
- Bulgaria
- Belgium
- India
- Netherlands
- Republic of Korea
- Argentina
- Hungary
- USA
- Czechia
- Sweden
- France
- Slovakia
The 13 winning teams will then advance to the Qualifiers second round at the beginning of September where they'll bid to reach the Finals.
How many players are in each team?
Each nation assembles a team of four or five players, with the country captain deciding which players will compete in the singles and doubles matches.
Who is representing Great Britain at the Davis Cup?
Leon Smith has selected a full-strength team to face Norway in Oslo between 5-6 February.
British No.1 Jack Draper will lead the charge alongside British No.2 Cam Norrie, Jacob Fearnley and the world's top doubles pairing Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash.
Find out more about the 2026 Lexus GB Davis Cup team
Great Britain’s history in the Davis Cup
Great Britain are the only nation to have competed in all editions of the tournament since its creation and have lifted the trophy a total of ten times, most recently in 2015.
Where to watch the Davis Cup
Broadcast information for the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers will be available soon.
