The 2026 Davis Cup Final 8 is played at BolognaFiere in Bologna from 24 to 29 November, the second year the knockout finale of the men’s team competition has been staged in the city. Italy, the host nation, has won the last three titles. Seven nations joined Italy by winning their qualifying ties in September. One of them, Korea, Rep., is the first Asian nation to reach the Final 8.
The structure of the competition, from the qualifying rounds to the regional groups, is in our explainer on how the Davis Cup works. This guide covers the week in Bologna.
Dates and format
The eight nations play a straight knockout: four quarterfinals from Tuesday to Thursday, the semifinals on Friday and Saturday, and the final on Sunday, 29 November. There is no group stage.
Each tie is decided on one day over a maximum of three matches: two singles, then a doubles. A nation that wins both singles has won the tie. That is how Italy took the 2025 final, 2-0, without needing its doubles pair. How the doubles game differs from singles is in our doubles explainer.
Schedule
All times are Central European Time.
- Tuesday 24 November, 16:00: Quarterfinal, Czechia v Canada
- Wednesday 25 November, 16:00: Quarterfinal, Italy v Korea, Rep.
- Thursday 26 November, 10:00: Quarterfinal, Great Britain v Germany
- Thursday 26 November, not before 17:00: Quarterfinal, Austria v Spain
- Friday 27 November, 16:00: Semifinal, Italy or Korea, Rep. v Czechia or Canada
- Saturday 28 November, 12:00: Semifinal, Great Britain or Germany v Austria or Spain
- Sunday 29 November, 15:00: Final
How they qualified
Italy qualified as host and defending champion. The other seven places went to the winners of the Qualifiers second round on 18 to 20 September. Korea beat India 3-1 in Seoul, as told in our Korea-India report, and Austria beat Belgium 3-1 on indoor clay in Vienna. Czechia beat the United States in Prague for the second year running, and Canada beat France in Quebec City. Germany, Spain and Great Britain completed the field on the final day, against Croatia, Chile and Ecuador. The draw for each tie and its venue choices are in our second-round preview.
The eight teams
Italy (host, three-time defending champion): Flavio Cobolli, Luciano Darderi, Lorenzo Musetti, Andrea Vavassori, Simone Bolelli. Captain: Filippo Volandri.
Korea, Rep.: Kwon Soonwoo, Chung Hyeon, Park Uisung, Nam Jisung, Hong Seongchan. Captain: Chung Jong-sam.
Czechia: Jakub Mensik, Jiri Lehecka, Patrick Rikl, Adam Pavlasek. Captain: Tomas Berdych.
Canada: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Liam Draxl, Duncan Chan. Captain: Frank Dancevic.
Great Britain: Arthur Fery, Cameron Norrie, Henry Patten, Neal Skupski. Captain: Leon Smith.
Germany: Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff, Kevin Krawietz, Tim Puetz. Captain: Michael Kohlmann.
Austria: Jurij Rodionov, Lukas Neumayer, Joel Schwaerzler, Neil Oberleitner, Lucas Miedler. Captain: Jurgen Melzer.
Spain: Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Jodar, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Pedro Martinez, Marcel Granollers. Captain: David Ferrer.
The storylines
Italy without Sinner again. Jannik Sinner, injured, is not in the Italian team, as he was not last year. Italy won in 2025 anyway, and Flavio Cobolli, a Roland Garros finalist this year, clinched the winning point in all three of its ties that week.
Alcaraz returns. Carlos Alcaraz has not played the Davis Cup since the 2024 Final 8 and missed Spain’s run to last year’s final. The Davis Cup is one of the few big titles missing from his record. Spain also brings two other top-15 players, Rafael Jodar and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and it is the last event for David Ferrer as captain.
The world No. 1 for Germany. Alexander Zverev arrives as world No. 1 and leads a German team with an established doubles pair in Krawietz and Puetz. Germany opens against a British team led by Wimbledon semifinalist Arthur Fery.
A debutant. Korea, Rep. plays its first Final 8 tie against the host and defending champion.
Davis Cup selection also matters beyond November: players need team call-ups to be eligible for the Olympics, as set out in our LA28 eligibility explainer.
Recent champions
Italy beat Spain 2-0 in the 2025 final in Bologna. Matteo Berrettini beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4, and Cobolli came back to beat Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5. It was Spain’s first final since 2019.
That gave Italy its fourth Davis Cup, after 1976, 2023 and 2024, and made it the first nation to win three in a row since the United States won five straight from 1968 to 1972. Every champion since 1968 is in our list of Davis Cup winners.
FAQ
When is the 2026 Davis Cup Final 8? From Tuesday 24 to Sunday 29 November 2026, at BolognaFiere in Bologna, Italy.
Who is the defending champion? Italy, which has won the last three titles.
Is Jannik Sinner playing? No. He is not in Italy’s team.
How many matches are in a tie? Up to three: two singles and a doubles, on the same day.
The week before Bologna, the season’s top eight singles players meet in Turin; see our ATP Finals guide. The women’s team event is covered in our Billie Jean King Cup Finals guide.
Season Snapshot — 2 November 2026
Squads are as announced on 26 October 2026 and can change before the event. Zverev became world No. 1 on 2 November. Jodar entered the top 10 the same day. Auger-Aliassime, Mensik and Sinner are not in the Rolex Paris Masters draw.
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
