· Spain to begin defence of their title against Ecuador in Madrid.
· Canada, Australia and France all in action on the first day of the Finals.
The cities of Madrid (Spain), Innsbruck (Austria) and Turin (Italy) will simultaneously host the first ties of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals 2021 on Thursday 25 November. The multi-site format, which is being introduced for the first time this year, will see each venue host two competition groups during the group stage, with Innsbruck and Turin hosting one quarter-final, and Madrid hosting the remaining two quarter-finals. The Spanish capital will also stage the two semi-finals and the final.
In Madrid, Canada will open the action against Sweden (Group B); in Innsbruck, France will face Czech Republic (Group C); and in Turin, Australia will take on Croatia (Group D). All ties will start at 1600 CET and, as with all ties at the Davis Cup Finals,will consist of two singles matches and one doubles.
The three host nations will have to wait one more day to launch their campaigns – with ties on Friday 26 November also starting at 1600 CET as Spain take on Ecuador in Madrid, Austria open against Serbia in Innsbruck and Italy face the USA in Turin. The group stage will be completed on 27 and 28 November with the debut of other teams including Russian Tennis Federation (RTF), Great Britain and Germany. The quarter-finals begin on Monday 29 November.
Albert Costa, director of the Davis Cup Finals said: “The scheduling of the ties has been carefully designed to ensure a level playing field for all participants, including those who will have to travel due to their progression in the knockout phase. There will be equality across all the groups and without doubt every match will be very exciting. The teams are planning to bring their best players and we are absolutely certain that this will be an event that will bring the annual tennis season to a spectacular close”.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Kosmos Tennis – the organisers of the competition – are already working with each of the cities to prepare the venues, and ticket sales information are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be played on identical hard courts.
Venues and Groups
Madrid Arena, Madrid (ESP)
Group A: Spain, RTF, Ecuador
Group B: Canada, Kazakhstan, Sweden
Quarter-finals: Winner Group A v group runner-up; Winner Group B v group runner-up
Semi-finals and final
Olympia-Halle, Innsbruck (AUT)
Group C: France, Great Britain, Czech Republic
Group F: Serbia, Germany, Austria
Quarter-final: Winner Group C v Winner Group F
Pala Alpitour Arena, Turin (ITA)
Group D: Croatia, Australia, Hungary
Group E: USA, Italy, Colombia
Quarter-final: Winner Group D v Winner Group E
Media contacts
Kosmos Tennis
Laura Pérez de Mendiola
Tel: +34 606 24 99 58
lpmendiola@kosmostennis.com
International Tennis Federation
Heather Bowler
Tel: +44 7885 966355
heather.bowler@itftennis.com
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup by Rakuten has grown to become the largest annual world championship in sport, with 142 nations entered in 2021. The new Finals format, which sees the top 18 nations compete to be crowned Davis Cup champions, was introduced in 2019 with Spain winning the title in Madrid. The 2021 Finals – held from 25 November until 5 December – will see the 2019 semi-finalists and two wild card nations joined by the 12 winning teams from the 2020 Qualifiers. Madrid will be the host city for the group stage, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of this year’s edition, while Innsbruck (Austria) and Turin (Italy) will be host cities for the group stage and the quarter-finals. The Finals have been held since 2019 with the support of the Region of Madrid and Madrid City Council.
