Davis Cup | Team Tennis, International Competition, Tennis Nations | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Davis Cup, trophy awarded to the winner of an annual international lawn-tennis tournament originally for amateur men’s teams. The official name is the International Lawn Tennis Challenge Trophy. The trophy was donated in 1900 by American Dwight F. Davis for a competition between teams from the United States and Great Britain. Davis himself played on winning U.S. teams in the first two meetings (1900 and 1902). From the start, Davis Cup rounds consisted of four singles matches and one doubles match. In 1904 Belgium and France entered the competition. Since 1912 the tournament has been under the supervision of the International Lawn Tennis Federation and has grown to truly international proportions, with the world divided into several zones and zone champions playing each other for the right to enter the finals. From 1972 the previous winner, heretofore only playing in the finals, had to play through zone competition. From 1970 professional players registered with national associations were permitted to compete. Until the 1980s, Australia, the United States, Great Britain, and France dominated the competition. (For a list of Davis Cup winners, see table.)

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.