Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by World Tennis and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual team sporting competition. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis" and the winners are referred to as the world champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. Initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, it soon became known metonymically after the trophy donated by Dwight F. Davis; the name was officially changed after Davis' death in 1945. By 2023, 155 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful country over the history of the competition is the United States (winning 32 titles and finishing as runners-up 29 times). The most recent champions are Italy, who beat Spain to win their fourth title (and third consecutive one) in 2025. The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly known as the Federation Cup (1963–1995) and Fed Cup (1995–2020). Australia, Italy, Russia, the Czech Republic and the United States are the only countries to have won both Davis Cup and Federation/Fed/Billie Jean King Cup titles in the same year. The Davis Cup allowed only amateurs and national registered professional players (from 1968) to compete until 1973, five years after the start of the Open Era.