The final knockout phase of the biggest and most anticipated tennis tournament is right around the corner. The Final 8, and the Davis Cup Finals as a whole, is regarded to be the “World Cup” of the tennis world and the winning national team will become World Champions. Join us as we brief you through everything you need to know about the Davis Cup Finals 2022.
Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals Tennis Tournament
The Davis Cup Finals is an annual men’s indoor hardcourt tournament. The event is held by the International Tennis Foundation but it is not part of the ATP Tour. In the international event, teams from around the world compete for the biggest tennis title of the year. In Davis cup 2022, a record-breaking 148 countries entered the Cup, making it the biggest international team-based sports competition. The Finals is the highest level competition at the tournament and the 8 teams promoted to play in the concluding knockout stage compete to win the World Championship. This year it will commemorate the event’s 110th edition since its inception. The Davis Cup Finals is currently sponsored by Rakuten- a Japanese e-commerce and online retail company based in Tokyo.
| Location | Malaga, Italy |
| Venue | Palacio Deportes Martin Carpena |
| No. of teams | 8 Countries |
| Draws | 8 |
Davis Cup 2022 Champions
On 27 November, Canada defeated Australia 2-0 to capture the Davis Cup Finals 2022 title. Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime both wins their matches in straight sets. Felix Auger-Aliassime capped the 2022 season with a historic victory in the red and white of Canada, clinching the nation’s first Davis Cup title with a singles victory on Sunday in Malaga, Spain. Canada beat Germany 2-1 in the quarterfinal round and beat Italy 2-1 in the semifinals.
Denis and Felix are the 9th and 10th player in history who won both the junior Davis cup and The Davis Cup Finals. Felix is the star of the Final, He won all 8 sets he played- 6 in singles and 2 in doubles. Felix also expressed his feeling:
“Denis and I grew up together, dreaming of these types of stage, dreaming of winning the Davis Cup. It’s a great moment for myself and for the country.”
Davis Cup Finals History and Previous Winners
The Davis Cup was first organized by the ITF in 1900 as a region-specific competition between players from Great Britain and the United States. The tournament was named after Dwight Davis, an American tennis player, Secretary of War, and Governor-General of the Philippines who coined the idea of a multinational scale competition to James Dwight and even donated a trophy out of his pocket for the event. The tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge but quickly changed to Davis Cup after Dwight Davis’ trophy donation.
Some memorable players that have participated in the Davis Cup include Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, the Big Three, Roy Emerson, Leander Paes, and many more. In the Davis Cup, Federer holds records for Switzerland that include most total wins, most singles win and most years played. He also has the most wins by any player at the Davis Cup.
The United States holds the record for most wins, followed by Australia, France, Great Britain, and so on. Australia has appeared in the most consecutive finals at 23 but the US has the most consecutive wins with 7 championships. From the roster for this year’s Cup Finals, Canada and Netherlands have yet to win a Davis Cup. The 2020 Cup was canceled due to Covid-19 and the 2021 champions and runner-ups have been disqualified. The list of championships won by each national team present in the Final 8 this year is given below.
| Country | Wins |
| United States | 32 |
| Australia | 28 |
| Spain | 6 |
| Germany | 3 |
| Croatia | 2 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Canada | —— (2019 Runner-up) |
| Netherland | —— |
Davis Cup Finals Draws
The Davis Cup Finals will have 8 total draws that will be released as the tournament progresses.
Davis Cup Finals Schedule and Format
Schedule and Format of Davis cup Finals 2022 is changed this year as compared to previous years.
Davis Cup Finals Schedule
The Davis Cup Finals can be divided into the group stage and the knockout stage. The group stage was held from 13-18 September and the knockout stage will be held from 22nd- 27th November.
| Date | Stage |
| 22nd November | Quarter-Finals |
| 23rd November | Quarter-Finals |
| 24th November | Quarter-Finals (2) |
| 25th November | Semi-Finals |
| 26th November | Semi-Finals |
| 27th November | Final |
Davis Cup Finals Format
Each session listed above consists of a doubles match and 2 singles matches, with 2 sessions being held on the 24th. All matches are decided based on best-of-3 tiebreak sets. The 8 finalist teams are the winners and runner-ups of their constituent groups during the Round Robin Group stage.
Davis Cup Finals 2022 Teams
Following the group stage of the event on the 13th through to the 18th of September, 8 teams have qualified to advance to the Final 8 stage. Russia, the 2021 champions, and the runner-ups Belarus have been disqualified from the tournament in light of Russian invasion of Ukraine. Serbia was given Russia’s protected spot in the Finals instead. The 8 teams on the Final stage, their players, and captains are as follows:
Italy
| Players | Ranking |
| Jannik Sinner | 15 |
| Matteo Berrettini | 16 |
| Lorenzo Musetti | 23 |
| Fabio Foginini | 56 (S), 23 (D) |
| Simone Bolelli | 21 (Doubles) |
| Captain: Filippo Volandri |
United States
| Players | Ranking |
| Taylor Fritz | 9 |
| Frances Tiafoe | 19 |
| Tommy Paul | 29 |
| Jack Sock | 43 (Doubles) |
| Captain: Mardy Fish |
Germany
| Players | Ranking |
| Oscar Otte | 59 |
| Yannick Hanfmann | 142 |
| Jan-Lennard Struff | 152 |
| Tim Puetz | 17 (Doubles) |
| Kevin Kawietz | 25 (Doubles) |
| Captain: Micheal Kohlmann |
Canada (champions)
| Players | Ranking |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 6 |
| Denis Shapovalov | 17 (S), 76 (D) |
| Vasek Pospisil | 118 |
| Alexis Galarneau | 222 |
| Gabriel Diallo | 248 |
| Captain: Frank Dancevic |
Australia (Runner-up)
| Players | Ranking |
| Alex De Minaur | 24 |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | 95 (S), 18 (D) |
| Matthew Ebden | 26 (Doubles) |
| Max Purcell | 33 (Doubles) |
| Captain: Lleyton Hewitt |
Netherlands
| Players | Ranking |
| Botic Van De Zandschulp | 35 |
| Tallon Griekspoor | 81 |
| Tim Van Rijthoven | 110 |
| Wesley Koolhof | 1 (Doubles) |
| Matwe Middelkoop | 22 (Doubles) |
| Captain: Paul Haarhuis |
Croatia
| Players | Ranking |
| Marin Cilic | 18 |
| Borna Coric | 27 |
| Borna Gojo | 145 |
| Mate Pavic | 7 (Doubles) |
| Nikola Mektic | 10 (Doubles) |
| Captain: Vedran Martic |
Spain
| Players | Ranking |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 13 |
| Roberto Bautista Agut | 21 |
| Marcel Granollers | 16 |
| Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 39 |
| Pedro Martinez | 61 (S), 74 (D) |
| Captain: Sergi Bruguera |
Great Britain and Canada were given wild cards this year, of which only Canada has made it into the Finals.
Davis Cup Finals 2022 Changes
Besides the tournament name change from Davis Cup to Davis Cup Finals and the match changes, other reforms specific to this year have also been made. For one, the World Group is now simply the Finals and instead of the usual 18 national teams, this year’s Cup Finals featured 16. The 16 teams were divided into 4 Groups; Group A, B, C, and D, of 4 national teams for the Round Robin group stage.
Davis Cup Finals Tickets
Tickets for the Davis Cup Finals can be purchased online from the official website. Tickets for the event are sold per session which is 2 singles and 1 doubles match. To purchase tickets and for information regarding hospitality and accommodations, click the link mentioned below.
Tickets Malaga – Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals (daviscupfinals.com)