Davis Cup Qualifiers Round-Up: USA and Great Britain dominate, Serbia falls to Chile without Djokovic

The 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers First Round was decided, defining the 13 spots that advanced to the second round. During the weekend, we already saw the elimination of some teams that are usually among the favorites and regularly appear in recent Finals – notably the eliminations of Australia, Argentina, and Serbia.

A total of 26 teams faced off in home-and-away series, determined by a prior draw. The teams that began the competition included six participants from the 2025 Finals (excluding the upcoming host nation Italy and the runner-up Spain).

Seven losing teams from last year’s second-round qualifiers were added, along with 13 winning teams from the 2025 World Group I. In the second round of the Qualifiers, Spain will join the 13 teams qualified this time – totaling 14 ties competing for the last seven spots in the Finals – and will join the hosts and two-time defending champions Italy, who already have their place secured in the final phase of the tournament.

It was perhaps an underwhelming round, considering the multiple absences. The current Davis Cup is being played in parallel with some ATP tournaments, and several Tour stars opted not to travel with their national teams – especially considering the long distances and jet lag: Australia and Serbia traveled to South America, the Netherlands went to India, while Argentina traveled all the way to South Korea – all with little time between competitions and location changes for upcoming ATP tournaments, which will have events this week in Europe, North America, and South America.

Although Novak Djokovic intends to continue participating with the Serbian Davis Cup team, he acknowledged that traveling to South America and switching to clay courts at this point in the season was particularly complicated. After the Australian Open, he needed to travel to Santiago, Chile, then back to the Middle East for the Doha Open, all in just a few days, with little rest and major time zone changes.

The Chilean team took particular advantage of the surface, and Serbia ended up traveling with a B team – without Kecmanovic or Medjedovic. Chile, with a team of specialists, defeated the Serbs 4-0, highlighted by wins from Alejandro Tabilo and Tomas Barrios, as well as Nicolas Jarry, who led his team in doubles. The Chileans will host Spain again as locals, and they will be a team to watch carefully, taking advantage of the surface, the long travel, and one of the most passionate crowds in this type of event.

The United States was led this time by Tommy Paul, who took the first singles match, and it was not necessary for him to play again against Hungary. He was the only American among the top 10 ranked players, who still did not have difficulty overcoming the Central Europeans 4-0, with additional wins from Ethan Quinn, Emilio Nava, and the doubles specialists Harris/Krajicek.

On the other hand, Germany also showed its favoritism despite the absence of Alexander Zverev. Yannick Hanfmann and Jan-Lennard Struff defeated the Peruvian team, taking advantage of their favorite surface of indoor hard courts to win 4-0. The Krawietz/Pütz duo closed the victory, while Justin Engel played the last match – which simply increased the positive result for the Germans.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Australia’s elimination, without their main stars Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin. They fell to the surprising Ecuadorian team, which, like Chile, took advantage of the South American clay conditions and the difficulty of the enormous travel and jet lag in the middle of a busy season. Alvaro Guillen caused a surprise in the first match, while Rinky Hijikata and Andres Andrade defeated James Duckworth later. The doubles were also claimed by the South Americans, who are now just one victory away from accessing the Finals.

The Argentine team, who often secure a place in the Finals, also failed during their trip to South Korea. They too suffered from absences, led by Argentina’s No. 8 Thiago Tirante and No. 10 Marco Trungelliti. It was one of the closest series of these qualifiers and was ultimately decided in the fifth match, with a victory by Chung Hyeon over Trungelliti, giving the South Koreans a historic win – and a huge disappointment for the Argentinians.

The French series started negatively, after Alexandre Muller was surprisingly defeated by Alex Molcan. However, the French team relied on Arthur Rinderknech as their hero this time, who won both of his singles matches – against Molcan and Gombos – steering the French team toward victory. Doubles specialists Bonzi and Hugues-Herbert also claimed the win, guaranteeing passage to the second round without too many complications, 3-1.

For the British, it was a straightforward series, being one of the few teams that had its main stars on court and facing a Norway team affected by the absence of Casper Ruud. Jack Draper had a notable return to the courts and won the opening match against Durasovic, while Cam Norrie increased the margin by defeating young star Nicolai Budkov-Kjaer in straight sets. The doubles of Cash/Glasspool closed the British victory, who then sent Jacob Fearnley onto the court to increase the score – though it no longer affected qualification – defeating Budkov.