When does Davis Cup 2021 start? Date and UK times of ‘World Cup of Tennis’ - finals schedule, groups and teams

The Davis Cup is an annual event where the 18 best national teams are assigned to the World Group and then compete in a knockout tournament.

In 2019, the format of the tournament changed from an event that had been spread over four weekends with three regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe/Africa).

Now the tournament is played at one location and in one week with 18 teams divided into six round-robin groups with the winners of the groups and two best second places advancing to the quarter finals.

The series now also features two singles matches and one doubles match with the matches being the best-of-3 rather than best-of-5 sets.

This year the Davis Cup 2021 will take place in Europe with Austria being one of the nominated venues. As a result of the newly imposed lockdown Austria have put in place due to the rising Coronavirus cases, Great Britain will play their group stage matches against France and Czech Republic behind closed doors.

The United States of America are the most successful team at the competition with 32 while Australasia/Australia are the second most successful nation with 28 titles.

Great Britain has won the ‘World Cup of Tennis’, as it is sometimes referred to, ten times, the same number as France.

Former British and World Number one Andy Murray announced earlier in October that he would not be competing in the event as he hoped to rest, recuperate and prepare for the Australian Open in January 2022.

Murray has had a mixture of success on his return to the pitch this season, reaching the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open in November before being knocked out by Tommy Paul in three sets.

The Great Britain team captain, Leon Smith had initially left one spot available for Murray if he chose to take it but eventually announced that the British Number Four, Liam Broady, would fill the vacancy.

Here is all you need to know ahead of the Davis Cup, World Cup of Tennis 2021

When is the Davis Cup 2021?

The Group stages of the tournament begin on Thursday 25 November 2021 and will conclude on Sunday 5 December 2021.

Where is the Davis Cup 2021 being held?

The Davis Cup 2021 is being held in Europe this year in three different venues.

One venue is the Olympiahalle in Innsbruck, Austria; the second venue is the Madrid Arena, Spain and the third arena will be the Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy.

Who is competing in the Davis Cup 2021?

There are 12 qualifiers, last year’s four semi-finalists and two wild card nations who have made it into the Davis Cup Finals.

The 12 qualifiers are: Australia, Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Sweden and the United States.

2020 Semifinalists: Spain, Canada, Great Britain and Russian Tennis Federation.

The two wildcards are France and Serbia.

What are the groups for the Davis Cup 2021?

• Group A: Spain, Ecuador, Russian Tennis Federation
• Group B: Canada, Sweden, Kazakhstan
• Group C: France, Czech Republic, Great Britain
• Group D: Croatia, Australia, Hungary
• Group E: United States, Italy, Colombia
• Group F: Serbia, Austria, Germany

What is the tournament schedule for the Davis Cup?

Thursday 25 November 2021: Group Stage

• France vs Czech Republic 3pm GMT
• Canada vs Sweden 3pm GMT
• Croatia vs Australia 3pm GMT 

Friday 26 November 2021: Group Stage

• Serbia vs Austria 3pm GMT
• Spain vs Ecuador 3pm GMT
• United States vs Italy 3pm GMT 

Saturday 27 November 2021: Group Stage

• France vs Great Britain 9am GMT
• Serbia vs Germany 3pm GMT
• Kazakhstan vs Sweden 9am GMT
• Russian Tennis Federation vs Ecuador 3pm GMT
• Australia vs Hungary 9am GMT
• Italy vs Colombia 3pm GMT

Sunday 28 November 2021: Group Stage

• Great Britain vs Czech Republic 9am GMT
• Germany vs Austria 3pm GMT
• Canada vs Kazakhstan 9am GMT
• Spain vs Russian Tennis Federation 4am GMT
• Croatia vs Hungary 9am GMT
• United States vs Colombia 3pm GMT

Monday 29 November: Quarterfinals

• Winner Group D vs Winner Group E 3pm GMT

Tuesday 30 November : Quarterfinals

• Winner Group C vs Winner Group F 3pm GMT

Wednesday 1 December: Quarter finals

• Winner Group B vs Second Best 1 or 2 3pm GMT

Thursday 2 December: Quarter finals

• Winner Group A vs Second Best 1 or 2 3pm GMT

Friday 3 December: Semifinals

• Semi-finalist (bottom half) vs Semi-finalist (bottom half) 3pm GMT

Saturday 4 December: Semifinals

• Semi-finalist (top half) vs Semi-finalist (top half) 12pm GMT

Sunday 5 December

• Final 3pm GMT

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