The best men’s tennis returns to action. The world’s top players are competing this weekend in the Davis Cup. What tournament is this?
In 2013, a total of 130 countries took part in the Davis Cup, making it the largest team competition in the world in professional sports. So, what is David Cup?
The Davis Cup is the third most important event in men’s tennis after the Grand Slam tournaments and the ATP Finals. In women’s competitions, it is known as the Billie Jean King Cup.
16 teams in the World Group are competing for the Davis Cup. National team matches take place 4 times a year. The eight teams that win their first match in the World Group will advance to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and then to the final, which will determine the winning team. These countries are guaranteed places in the World Group next year. The eight teams that lost their first match in the World Group will compete in the World Group play-offs the following year. The remaining teams are divided into 3 zones depending on their location.
The World Group play-off matches determine promotion or relegation between the eight teams that lost their first match in the World Group and the eight winning teams from the First Zonal Group. Zone Groups 1 – 2 are divided into 3 regions: Americas, Asia/Oceania, Europe/Africa. Each region has an additional 3 or 4 divisions, with Group I being the highest and Group IV being the lowest. The exact format of each group’s competition depends on the number of teams participating in the competition. Zone Groups III and IV have a different competition format. Matches of these zones take place during one week in a selected location. Each group is initially divided into additional group fields with play-off matches that decide about promotion or relegation.
The World Group and Zone Groups I and II play in a best-of-five format during a 2-3-day weekend. The host of the match is one of the teams between which the match is played. In Zone Groups III and IV, matches are played in a best-of-five format during one day.
The final tournament will take place on November 21-26 in Malaga. Eight teams will take part in it. Matches in all groups are played this weekend. These matches will determine the teams that will compete in the play-offs next year and the teams that will advance to the final of this year’s Davis Cup in Malaga.
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