List of Davis Cup champions
Current season, competition or edition: 2016 Davis Cup | |
 | |
| Sport | Tennis |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1900 |
| Founder | Dwight F. Davis |
| No. of teams |
16 (World Group) 135 (2016 total) |
| Countries | ITF member nations |
| Most recent champion(s) |
 Great Britain (10th title) |
| Most titles |
 United States (32 titles) |
| Official website | daviscup.com |
The Davis Cup is an annual international team event in men's tennis. Established in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, it is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), who describe it as the "World Cup of tennis." The first event in 1900 was between Great Britain and the United States,[1] while 135 nations have entered the 2016 Davis Cup.[2]
The tournament sees players competing for their country in a series of five singles and doubles matches, known as rubbers, over the course of three days, with the team that wins three rubbers progressing.[3] The countries are divided into groups based upon their location or performance in previous years. The Davis Cup World Group is the top level of the competition and features matches between players from the top 16 countries at the start of the year.[2] Countries that lose their first round match face a relegation play-off against winning countries from the continental zones. World Group winning countries progress to the quarter-finals. Nations have to win a further three ties in order to claim the position of Davis Cup Champions.[2]
The United States are the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with 32 victories. Australia are second with 28 and Great Britain are third with 10. Teams from Europe have won the competition the most with 42 victories, followed by North America with 32 and Oceania with 28. Great Britain are the current champions, they beat Belgium 3–1 in the final in 2015.[4]
History
The Davis Cup was founded in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. Four members of the Harvard University wished to challenge Great Britain in a tennis competition. One of the American players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered a sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low for approximately $1,000.[5] The first match, held at Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts, was won by the American team 3–0. There was no match the following year, but the United States retained the trophy in 1902, beating Great Britain 3–2. This was followed by four successive victories for Britain, from 1903 to 1906. The 1904 Davis Cup saw new teams compete for the first time, as Belgium and France entered.[6]
Australasia became the first nation outside of Britain and the United States to win the tournament in 1907, when they Britain 3–2. They would retain the trophy for the following years until 1912, when they were defeated by the British Isles. The United States and Australasia won the two competitions prior to the outbreak of the First World War, in 1914. The tournament resumed in 1919, with Australasia retaining the trophy, beating Great Britain 4–1. They lost the following year to the United States, who won 5–0. The Americans won the following six tournaments, before they were defeated 3–2 by France in 1927. The tournament underwent restructuring for the 1923 edition. Teams were split into two zones; the 'America Zone' and 'Europe Zone', with the winners playing each other to determine who would face the defending champions.[7]
The French won a further five successive tournaments before they were beaten 3–2 by Great Britain in 1933. The British team retained the trophy a further three times until they were defeated by the United States in 1937. Australia were the last champions before the onset of the Second World War. They beat the United States 3–2 in 1939. Upon resumption of the tournament in 1946, the United States regained the title, after they beat Australia 5–0. The would retain the title until 1950, when Australia won 4–1. This marked the start of Australian dominance of the Davis Cup, as they only lost three times from 1950 to 1967. They were beaten 4–1 by the United States in 1968, who retained the title until 1973, when they lost to Australia.
The 1974 Davis Cup marked the first time that neither Australia or the United States won the final since 1936, as South Africa and India were the finalists.[8] However, the final was not contested as the Indian team refused to travel to South Africa in protest at the South African government's apartheid policies. South Africa were awarded the Davis Cup on walkover.[9]
Winners
| * | Title won by away country |
| G | Grass |
| C | Clay |
| CP | Carpet |
| H | Hard |
| Ix | Indoor |
- The "Year" column refers to the year the Davis Cup tournament was held, and wikilinks to the article about that tournament.
- Links in the "Winners" and "Runners-up" columns point to the articles for the national teams of the countries, not the articles for the countries.
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Performance by team
| Country | Wins | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
32 | 2007 | 29 | 2004 |
 Australia[c] |
28 | 2003 | 19 | 2001 |
| Great Britain[d] |
10 | 2015 | 8 | 1978 |
 France |
9 | 2001 | 8 | 2014 |
 Sweden |
7 | 1998 | 5 | 1996 |
 Spain |
5 | 2011 | 4 | 2012 |
 Germany[e] |
3 | 1993 | 2 | 1985 |
 Czech Republic[f] |
3 | 2013 | 2 | 2009 |
 Russia |
2 | 2006 | 3 | 2007 |
 Italy |
1 | 1976 | 6 | 1998 |
 Serbia |
1 | 2010 | 1 | 2013 |
 Switzerland |
1 | 2014 | 1 | 1992 |
 South Africa |
1 | 1974 | 0 | & —
|
 Croatia |
1 | 2005 | 0 | & —
|
 Argentina |
0 | & —
|
4 | 2011 |
 Romania |
0 | & —
|
3 | 1972 |
 India |
0 | & —
|
3 | 1987 |
.svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
0 | & —
|
2 | 2015 |
 Japan |
0 | & —
|
1 | 1921 |
 Mexico |
0 | & —
|
1 | 1962 |
 Chile |
0 | & —
|
1 | 1976 |
 Slovakia[f] |
0 | & —
|
1 | 2005 |
Performance by continent
| Continent | Wins | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 43 | 46 |
| North America | 32 | 30 |
| Oceania | 28 | 19 |
| Africa | 1 | 0 |
| South America | 0 | 5 |
| Asia | 0 | 4 |
Notes
- c Australia and New Zealand competed as Australasia for their six victories between 1907 and 1919.
- d The first three of Great Britain's titles were won as the British Isles.
- e Germany was known as West Germany from 1961 until 1990.
- f The Slovakia Davis Cup team was only established in 1994 but featured players from the former Czechoslovakia.
References
- ↑ "What a racquet: Britain's Davis Cup history". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Davis Cup format". Davis Cup. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ↑ "Davis Cup Explained". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ↑ Newberry, Piers (29 November 2015). "Andy Murray wins the Davis Cup for Great Britain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ↑ Grasso, John (September 2011). "Davis Cup". Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Scarecrow Press. p. 79. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ↑ "No Tennis Challenge; Americans Will Not Enter a Team for Davis Trophy Contest." (PDF). New York Times. 8 March 1904. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ↑ Davis, Dwight F. (23 May 1923). "Tennis being developed as International Game". The Harvard Crismon. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ↑ Seminara, Dave (28 November 2009). "The Year the Davis Cup felt empty". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ↑ Tignor, Steve (19 November 2014). "The Shots Not Heard Around The World". Tennis. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ↑ "Davis Cup champions". Davis Cup. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ↑ "1912". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ↑ Cole, Charles (31 December 2011). "Cup's Christchurch ties". The Press. pp. B10–11. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ↑ The final was scratched and South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government's apartheid policies.
