2020–21 Davis Cup

2020–21 Davis Cup
Details
Duration	6 March 2020 – 5 December 2021
Edition	109th
Champion
Winning nation	RTF
	← 2019 2022 →

The 2020–21 Davis Cup was the 109th edition of the Davis Cup, a tournament between national teams in men's tennis. It was sponsored by Rakuten.^[1] For this edition, the format of the cup was changed.^[2] The new format saw the creation of a Davis Cup World Group I and World Group II which was played on a worldwide basis and replaced the regional Group I and Group II. As a result, the Davis Cup nations ranking was no longer used to determine which group a nation was played in. Previous the 2019, and the 2021 finals host Spain were the defending champions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 26 June 2020 the ITF announced that the 2020 finals would take place from 22 until 28 November 2021. In addition, 24 World Group I and World Group II ties were postponed to March and September 2021, and the 2020 regional Group III and Group IV events were also postponed to 2021. The 18 nations that qualified for the finals kept their standing for the next year.^[3]

Davis Cup Finals

Date: 25 November–5 December 2021
Venue: Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain
Olympiahalle, Innsbruck, Austria
Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy^[4]^[5]
Surface: Hard court (indoor)

18 nations took part in the finals, formerly known as World Group. The qualification was as follows:

4 semifinalists of the previous edition
2 wild card teams (announced by ITF on 23 November 2019 as France and Serbia)^[6]
12 winners of a qualifier round, in March 2020

H = Host nation, TH = Title holder, WC = Wild card

Participating teams
Australia	Austria (H)	Canada	Colombia	Croatia	Czech Republic
Ecuador	France (WC)	Germany	Great Britain	Hungary	Italy (H)
Kazakhstan	RTF	Serbia (WC)	Spain (H, TH)	Sweden	United States

Seeds

The seedings were based on the Nations ranking of 9 March.^[7]

#: Nations ranking as of 9 March 2020.^[8]

Spain (TH, #3)
Canada (#6)
France (#1)
Croatia (#2)
United States (#5)
Serbia (#7)

Qualifying round

Date: 6–7 March 2020^[9]

Twenty-six eligible teams were:

14 teams ranked 5th-18th in the Finals.
12 winning teams from their Group I zone.

Two wild cards for the Finals were selected from these 26 nations. Serbia and France were announced prior to the Qualifiers draw.^[9] The remaining 24 nations competed in head-to-head matches, with the 12 winning teams to play at the Finals and the 12 losing teams to play at the World Group I in 2022.

The Davis Cup Qualifiers draw took place on 24 November 2019 at La Caja Mágica.^[9]

Seeded teams

Unseeded teams:

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Croatia [1]	3–1	India	Zagreb	Dom Sportova	Hard (i)	^[10]
Hungary	3–2	Belgium [2]	Debrecen	Főnix Hall	Clay (i)	^[11]
Colombia	3–1	Argentina [3]	Bogotá	Palacio de los Deportes	Clay (i)	^[12]
United States [4]	4–0	Uzbekistan	Honolulu	Neal S. Blaisdell Center	Hard (i)	^[13]
Australia [5]	3–1	Brazil	Adelaide	Memorial Drive Tennis Centre	Hard	^[14]
Italy [6]	4–0	South Korea	Cagliari	Circolo Tennis Cagliari	Clay	^[15]
Germany [7]	4–1	Belarus	Düsseldorf	Castello Düsseldorf	Hard (i)	^[16]
Kazakhstan [8]	3–1	Netherlands	Nur-Sultan	Daulet National Tennis Centre	Hard (i)	^[17]
Slovakia	1–3	Czech Republic [9]	Bratislava	AXA Aréna NTC	Clay (i)	^[18]
Austria [10]	3–1	Uruguay	Premstätten	Steiermarkhalle Schwarzlsee	Hard (i)	^[19]
Japan [11]	0–3	Ecuador	Miki	Bourbon Beans Dome	Hard (i)	^[20]
Sweden [12]	3–1	Chile	Stockholm	Kungliga tennishallen	Hard (i)	^[21]

Group stage

	Qualified for the Knockout stage
	Eliminated

T = Ties, M = Matches, S = Sets

Group	Winner				Runner-up				Third
Group	Nation	T	M	S	Nation	T	M	S	Nation	T	M	S
A	RTF	2–0	5–1	11–5	Spain	1–1	4–2	9–7	Ecuador	0–2	0–6	4–12
B	Kazakhstan	2–0	5–1	10–5	Sweden	1–1	4–2	9–4	Canada	0–2	0–6	2–12
C	Great Britain	2–0	4–2	8–5	France	1–1	3–3	6–8	Czech Republic	0–2	2–4	7–8
D	Croatia	2–0	5–1	11–3	Australia	1–1	2–4	6–10	Hungary	0–2	2–4	6–10
E	Italy	2–0	4–2	9–5	Colombia	1–1	3–3	8–8	United States	0–2	2–4	5–9
F	Germany	2–0	4–2	8–5	Serbia	1–1	4–2	9–6	Austria	0–2	1–5	4–10

Knockout stage


Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final

2 December, Madrid

12	RTF	2
			4 December, Madrid
13	Sweden	0
			12	RTF	2
30 November, Innsbruck
			7	Germany	1
9	Great Britain	1
						5 December, Madrid
7	Germany	2
						12	RTF	2
29 November, Turin
						4	Croatia	0
8	Italy	1
			3 December, Madrid
4	Croatia	2
			4	Croatia	2
1 December, Madrid
			6	Serbia	1
6	Serbia	2

11	Kazakhstan	1

World Group I

Date: 5–6 March 2021 or 17–19 September 2021

Twenty-four teams participated in the World Group I, in series decided on a home and away basis. The seedings are based on the Nations ranking of 9 March.^[7]

These twenty-four teams were:

12 losing teams from the qualifying round
12 winning teams from World Group I play-offs

The eight highest-ranked winners (as at 20 September 2021) of the World Group I ties will automatically progress to the 2022 qualifiers. The four lowest-ranked winners (Norway, Peru, Romania and Ukraine) took part in an additional knock-out tie in November 2021, with the two winners progressing to the 2022 qualifiers and two losers contesting the 2022 World Group I play-offs. The losing nations from the World Group I ties will compete in the World Group I Play-Offs in 2022.^[22]

#: Nations ranking as of 9 March 2020.

Seeded teams

Belgium (#4)
Argentina (#16)
Japan (#19)
Netherlands (#20)
Chile (#21)
India (#22)
Uzbekistan (#25)
Brazil (#26)
South Korea (#27)
Portugal (#28)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (#29)
Israel (#30)

Unseeded teams

Slovakia (#31)
Uruguay (#32)
Finland (#33)
Pakistan (#34)
Ukraine (#35)
Lebanon (#36)
New Zealand (#37)
Peru (#38)
Bolivia (#40)
Romania (#41)
Belarus (#42)
Norway (#45)

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Bolivia	2–3	Belgium [1]	Asunción (Paraguay)	Rakiura Resort	Clay	^[23]
Argentina [2]	4–1	Belarus	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club	Clay	^[24]
Pakistan	0–4	Japan [3]	Islamabad	Pakistan Sports Complex	Grass	^[25]
Uruguay	0–4	Netherlands [4]	Montevideo	Carrasco Lawn Tenis Club	Clay	^[26]
Slovakia	3–1	Chile [5]	Bratislava	NTC Arena	Hard (i)	^[27]
Finland	3–1	India [6]	Espoo	Espoo Metro Areena	Hard (i)	^[28]
Norway	3–1	Uzbekistan [7]	Oslo	Oslo Tennis Arena	Hard (i)	^[29]
Lebanon	0–4	Brazil [8]	Jounieh	Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon	Clay	^[30]
New Zealand	1–3	South Korea [9]	Newport (United States)	International Tennis Hall of Fame	Grass	^[31]
Romania	3–1	Portugal [10]	Cluj-Napoca	Horia Demian Sports Hall	Hard (i)	^[32]
Peru	3–2	Bosnia and Herzegovina [11]	Lima	Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición	Clay	^[33]
Ukraine	3–2	Israel [12]	Kyiv	Marina Tennis Club	Hard (i)	^[34]

Qualifying round

Date: 6–9 March 2020

Twenty-four teams played for the twelve spots in the World Group I, in series decided on a home and away basis.

These twenty-four teams were:

12 losing teams from their Group I zone.
12 winning teams from their Group II zone.

The 12 winning teams from the play-offs played at the World Group I and the 12 losing teams played at the World Group II.

Seeded teams

Unseeded teams

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Ukraine	3–2	Chinese Taipei	Zaporizhia	Palace of Sports	Hard (i)	^[35]
Pakistan	3–0	Slovenia	Islamabad	Pakistan Sports Complex	Grass	^[36]
Bolivia	3–1	Dominican Republic	Santa Cruz de la Sierra	Club de Tenis Santa Cruz	Clay	^[37]
Turkey	1–3	Israel	Antalya	Club Megasaray Tennis Centre	Clay	^[38]
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–1	South Africa	Zenica	Arena Zenica	Hard (i)	^[39]
Mexico	2–3	Finland	Metepec	Club Deportivo La Asunción	Clay	^[40]
Lebanon	3–1	Thailand	Jounieh	Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon	Clay	^[41]
New Zealand	3–1	Venezuela	Auckland	ASB Tennis Centre	Hard	^[42]
Peru	3–1	Switzerland	Lima	Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición	Clay	^[43]
Norway	4–0	Barbados	Oslo	Oslo Tennis Arena	Hard (i)	^[44]
Lithuania	0–4	Portugal	Šiauliai	Šiauliai Tennis Academy	Hard (i)	^[45]
Romania	w/o	China	Piatra Neamț	Polyvalent Hall	Hard (i)	^[46]

Knock-out round

Date: 26–28 November 2021

Four teams played in this round, in series decided on a home and away basis.

These four teams were the four lowest-ranked winners of World Group I.

The two winning teams will play at the Qualifiers and the two losing teams will play at the World Group I Play-Offs in 2022.

#: Nations ranking as of 20 September 2021.

Seeded teams

Ukraine (#33)
Peru (#35)

Unseeded teams

Romania (#40)
Norway (#43)

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Norway	3–1	Ukraine [1]	Oslo	Oslo Tennis Arena	Hard (i)	^[47]
Romania	4–0	Peru [2]	Cluj-Napoca	Horia Demian Sports Hall	Hard (i)	^[48]

World Group II

Date: 5–6 March 2021 or 17–19 September 2021

Twenty-four teams participated in the World Group II, in series decided on a home and away basis. The seedings are based on the Nations ranking of 9 March.^[7]

These twenty-four teams were:

12 losing teams from World Group I play-offs
12 winning teams from World Group II play-offs

The eight highest-ranked winners (as at 20 September 2021) of the World Group II ties will automatically progress to the 2022 World Group I play-offs. The four lowest-ranked teams (Denmark, Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe) took part in an additional knock-out tie in November, with the two winners progressing to the 2022 World Group I play-offs and two losers contesting the 2022 World Group II play-offs. The losing nations from the World Group II ties will compete in the World Group II Play-Offs in 2022.^[49]

#: Nations ranking as of 9 March 2020.

Seeded teams

China (#39)
Mexico (#43)
Switzerland (#44)
Dominican Republic (#46)
Lithuania (#47)
Thailand (#48)
Poland (#49)
Slovenia (#50)
Turkey (#51)
South Africa (#52)
Chinese Taipei (#53)
Barbados (#54)

Unseeded teams

Venezuela (#55)
Tunisia (#56)
Estonia (#57)
Greece (#58)
Bulgaria (#59)
Denmark (#60)
Morocco (#61)
Zimbabwe (#62)
Indonesia (#63)
El Salvador (#64)
Paraguay (#65)
Latvia (#66)

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Zimbabwe	w/o	China [1]	Harare	Harare Sports Club	Hard	^[50]
Bulgaria	1–3	Mexico [2]	Sofia	Sport Hall Sofia	Hard (i)	^[51]
Switzerland [3]	5–0	Estonia	Biel	Swiss Tennis Arena	Hard (i)	^[52]
Tunisia	3–2	Dominican Republic [4]	Tunis	Cité Nationale Sportive El Menzah	Hard	^[53]
Greece	1–3	Lithuania [5]	Heraklion	Lyttos Beach Tennis Academy	Hard	^[54]
Denmark	4–1	Thailand [6]	Kolding	Sydbank Arena	Hard (i)	^[55]
Poland [7]	3–1	El Salvador	Kalisz	Arena Kalisz	Hard (i)	^[56]
Slovenia [8]	3–1	Paraguay	Portorož	Tennis Centre Portoroz	Clay	^[57]
Turkey [9]	4–0	Latvia	Istanbul	Enka Spor Kulubu	Hard	^[58]
South Africa [10]	4–0	Venezuela	New York (United States)	Forest Hills Stadium	Hard	^[59]
Chinese Taipei [11]	w/o	Morocco	—	—	—	^[60]
Barbados [12]	3–1	Indonesia	Saint Michael	National Tennis Centre	Hard	^[61]

Qualifying round

Date: 6–7 March 2020

Twenty-four teams played for the twelve spots in the World Group II, in series decided on a home and away basis.

These twenty-four teams are:

12 losing teams from their Group II zone:
12 teams from their Group III zone:
- 4 from Europe
- 3 from Asia/Oceania,
- 3 from Americas, and
- 2 from Africa.

The 12 winning teams from the play-offs will play at the World Group II and the 12 losing teams will play at the Group III of the corresponding continental zone.

Seeded teams

Unseeded teams

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Latvia	4–1	Egypt	Jūrmala	National Tennis Centre Lielupe	Hard (i)	^[62]
Paraguay	4–0	Sri Lanka	Asunción	Club Internacional de Tenis	Clay	^[63]
Morocco	4–0	Vietnam	Marrakesh	Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech	Clay	^[64]
Indonesia	4–0	Kenya	Jakarta	Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex	Hard	^[65]
Guatemala	1–3	Tunisia	Guatemala City	Federación Nacional De Tenis	Hard	^[66]
Costa Rica	1–4	Bulgaria	San José	Costa Rica Country Club	Hard	^[67]
Poland	4–0	Hong Kong	Kalisz	Arena Kalisz	Hard (i)	^[68]
Zimbabwe	3–1	Syria	Harare	Harare Sports Club	Hard	^[69]
Philippines	1–4	Greece	Metro Manila	Philippine Columbian Association	Clay (i)	^[70]
Denmark	5–0	Puerto Rico	Holbæk	Holbæk Sportsby	Hard (i)	^[71]
El Salvador	3–1	Jamaica	San Salvador	Polideportivo de Ciudad Merliot	Hard	^[72]
Georgia	1–4	Estonia	Tbilisi	Alex Metreveli Tennis Club	Hard	^[73]