The eight Davis Cup finalists confirmed as Holger Rune and de Alex Minaur suffer heartbreak in Qualifers

The final teams to qualify for the Davis Cup Finals have been decided, with several surprises, including the elimination of Australia—led by Alex de Minaur—at the hands of Belgium, with Raphael Collignon as their hero. Meanwhile, Spain managed to come back from a 0-2 deficit against Holger Rune's Denmark to secure their spot and keep the Spanish team alive—despite the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina this time around.

This also follows the victory of the Czech Republic on Saturday night, who defeated the USA in the final two singles matches to knock out one of the favorites for the title in a tight series. Of the seven spots that were decided this week, the visiting team surprisingly won in six of them.

The Australian team arrived with high ambitions after reaching the final in 2022 and 2023, in addition to being eliminated in the semifinals in 2024 against eventual champions Italy. This time, the team led by Alex de Minaur will not make it to the Finals, having been stunned by the Belgian team, who will play in the Finals for the second consecutive year.

On the first day, the surprise began with the singles match between 23-year-old Raphael Collignon (Belgium No. 3) and world No. 8 Alex de Minaur. Although the Australian seemed a clear favorite, the European showed that in the Davis Cup, ranking does not have the same weight as in other tournaments, securing a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory that put the Belgians ahead. In the second match, Zizou Bergs (No. 46) gave his country a 2-0 lead after defeating Jordan Thompson (No. 78) in straight sets.

Australia's hopes were renewed on Sunday when they won the doubles match with Thompson and Hijikata, coming back from a set down against doubles specialists Gille/Vliegen. Similarly, de Minaur extended the suspense by comfortably defeating Bergs (6-2, 7-5) and leaving everything to the deciding match, where Alexander Vukic would be responsible for finishing the series. After the Australian won the first set, Collignon delivered another memorable performance and claimed the victory 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, ensuring Belgium's passage to the Finals.

Spain achieved a historic feat by coming back from 0-2 for the first time. It seemed impossible after the losses on the first day, where Holger Rune defeated Carreño Busta and Elmer Moller defeated Spain's No. 1 on this occasion, Jaume Munar. In the doubles match, Munar teamed up with Martínez to give Spain hope, beating Holmgren and Ingildsen in three sets.

Martínez himself took on the responsibility, replacing Munar in the singles, and challenged none other than world No. 11 Rune. After saving a match point in the third set, Martínez secured one of the best wins of his career with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(3) victory, allowing his teammate Carreño Busta to play for the qualification. The former top-10 player did not disappoint and sealed the victory against Moller 6-2, 6-3, giving the team captained by David Ferrer the qualification.

Without their two main names, Carlos Alcaraz and Davidovich Fokina, Spain managed to pull off the biggest comeback of the Davis Cup weekend and secure their return to the Finals.

The only team that was already pre-qualified was Italy, who are the two-time defending champions and will also be the hosts of the finals in Bologna. The team of Jannik Sinner and company once again emerges as the favorite, and the rest of the countries are stepping back in their quest to prevent the Italians' triple crown.

The national teams of Argentina, Australia, Germany, and France were also added over the weekend. In addition, on Saturday night, the Czech Republic team knocked out the USA—with Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe—guaranteeing their place in the finals.