2020–21 Davis Cup

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]

2020–21 Davis Cup

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

Davis Cup Finals

Main article: 2021 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]

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

Qualifying round

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup 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  Argentina  Australia  Austria  Belgium  Croatia  Czech Republic  Germany  Italy  Japan  Kazakhstan  Sweden  United States

Unseeded teams:  Belarus  Brazil  Chile  Colombia  Ecuador  Hungary  India  Slovakia  South Korea  Netherlands  Uruguay  Uzbekistan

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
	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

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup 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

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup World Group I play-offs

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  Barbados  Bosnia and Herzegovina  China  Dominican Republic  Finland  Israel  Lebanon  Pakistan  Portugal   Switzerland  Ukraine  Venezuela

Unseeded teams  Bolivia  Chinese Taipei  Lithuania  Mexico  New Zealand  Norway  Peru  Romania  Slovenia  South Africa  Thailand  Turkey

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

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup World Group I Knock-outs

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

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup 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

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs

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  Bulgaria  Denmark  Egypt  El Salvador  Georgia  Guatemala  Hong Kong  Indonesia  Morocco  Paraguay  Philippines  Zimbabwe

Unseeded teams  Costa Rica  Estonia  Greece  Jamaica  Kenya  Latvia  Poland  Puerto Rico  Sri Lanka  Syria  Tunisia  Vietnam

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]

Knock-out round

Main article: 2020 Davis Cup World Group II Knock-outs

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 II.

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

#: Nations ranking as of 20 September 2021.

Seeded teams  Tunisia (#55)  Denmark (#56)

Unseeded teams  Morocco (#60)  Zimbabwe (#62)

Home team	Score	Away team	Location	Venue	Surface	Ref.
Tunisia [1]	4–0	Zimbabwe	Tunis	Tennis Club de Tunis	Clay	[74]
Morocco	1–3	Denmark [2]	Marrakesh	Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech	Clay	[75]

Americas Zone

Group III

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group III

Dates: 30 June–3 July 2021 ^[76]

Location: Centro de Alto Rendimineto Fred Maduro, Panama City, Panama (clay)

The first two nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs

Teams

Bahamas  Bermuda  Costa Rica  Cuba  Guatemala  Honduras

Jamaica  Panama (host)  Puerto Rico  Trinidad and Tobago  U.S. Virgin Islands

Inactive Teams

•  Antigua and Barbuda
•  Aruba
•  Haiti
•  Saint Lucia

Promotions

•  Jamaica and  Guatemala qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs

Asia/Oceania Zone

Group III

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III

Dates: 15–18 September 2021 ^[77]

Location: Jordan Tennis Federation, Amman, Jordan (hard)

The first three nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs

Teams

Hong Kong  Jordan (host)  Kuwait  Malaysia Pacific Oceania

Qatar  Sri Lanka  Syria  Vietnam  Philippines (withdrew)

Promotions/Relegations

•  Hong Kong,  Vietnam and Pacific Oceania qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs
•  Kuwait,  Qatar and  Sri Lanka are relegated to 2022 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV

Group IV

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV

Dates: 18–23 October 2021 ^[78]

Location: Bahrain Tennis Federation Courts, Isa Town, Bahrain (hard)

The first three nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III

Teams

Bahrain (host)  Cambodia  Guam  Iran  Iraq  Kyrgyzstan

Mongolia  Oman  Saudi Arabia  Turkmenistan  United Arab Emirates  Yemen

Inactive Teams

•  Bangladesh
•  Brunei
•  Myanmar
•  Singapore
•  Tajikistan

Promotions

•  Iran,  Saudi Arabia and  United Arab Emirates are promoted to 2022 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III

Europe Zone

Group III

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III

Dates: 16–19 June 2021 ^[77]

Location: Herodotou Tennis Academy, Larnaca, Cyprus (hard)

The first three nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs

The last two nations (excluding  Liechtenstein) are relegated to 2022 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group IV

Teams

Cyprus (host)  Georgia  Iceland  Ireland

Luxembourg  Malta  Monaco  Liechtenstein (withdrew)

Promotions/Relegations

•  Cyprus,  Ireland and  Monaco qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs
•  Iceland and  Malta are relegated to 2022 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group IV

Group IV

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group IV

Dates: 22–26 June 2021 ^[78]

Location: Tennis Club Jug, Skopje, North Macedonia (clay)

The first four nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III

Teams

Albania  Andorra  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Kosovo

Moldova  Montenegro  North Macedonia (host)  San Marino

Promotions

•  Armenia,  Moldova,  Montenegro and  North Macedonia are promoted to the 2022 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III.

Africa Zone

Group III

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III

Dates: 11–14 August 2021 ^[77]

Location: Smash Academy, Cairo, Egypt (clay)

The first two nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs

Teams

Algeria  Benin  Egypt (host)  Ghana

Kenya  Madagascar (withdrew)  Mozambique  Rwanda

Promotions/Relegations

•  Egypt and  Benin qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II play-offs.
•  Rwanda and  Ghana were relegated to 2022 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group IV.

Group IV

Further information: 2021 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group IV

Dates: 21–26 June 2021 ^[78]

Location: Complexe Sportif La Concorde, Brazzaville, Congo (hard)

The first two nations qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III

Teams

Angola  Botswana  Cameroon  Congo (host)  Gabon

Ivory Coast  Namibia  Nigeria  Senegal  Uganda

Inactive Teams

•  Burkina Faso
•  Djibouti
•  Ethiopia
•  Lesotho
•  Libya
•  Mali
•  Mauritius
•  Togo
•  Zambia

Promotions

•  Ivory Coast and  Namibia are promoted to the 2022 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III.