Davis Cup Tips, Previews & Predictions

The Davis Cup is an annual international team competition in men's tennis. Organised and run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), it is often described as the World Cup of Tennis.

The competition began in 1900 between Great Britain and the United States. Four members of the Harvard University tennis team wanted to challenge the British to a tennis competition, with Dwight F. Davis, one of the four Harvard players designing the tournament format.

By 1905 the tournament included Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia which combined a team from Australia and New Zealand until 1914. The tournament was initially called the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, but was soon known as the Davis Cup.

Australia dominated the Davis Cup between 1950 and 1967, winning the competition 15 times in 18 years. In 1972 the format was changed to a knockout tournament with the defending champion required to compete in all rounds.

The United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France and Australia/Australasia dominated the Davis Cup until 1973 when South Africa and India made the final. However, India refused to travel to South Africa in protest at South Africa's apartheid policies.

The following year Sweden beat Czechoslovakia in the final with many other countries going on to lift the trophy. In 2016 there were 135 nations competing in the Davis Cup.

The 16 best national teams are assigned to the World Group, competing annually for the Davis Cup over four weekends during the year. The first round is held in February, the quarter-finals in April, with the semi-finals in September and the final held in November. 

Teams in the World Group play a four-round elimination tournament, with teams seeded based on a ranking system by the ITF that takes the previous years’ results into account. The defending champion and runner-up are always the top two seeds.

The most successful countries in Davis Cup history are the United States with 32 titles and Australia/Australasia with 28 titles. The defending champions are France who beat Belgium in 2017 to win their tenth title.

The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup, with the Hopman Cup for mixed teams a popular start to the tennis season.

We have one mission at FreeTips.com, to provide you with free expertly researched Davis Cup tennis tips that you can use throughout the Davis Cup to help you have a successful tournament and build your bankroll.