Spain were given a bye into the second round of the Davis Cup Qualifiers as the beaten finalists of 2025. They were also given an outdoor clay court in Santiago, against the side that won 4-0 on it in February. The Qualifiers second round runs from 18 to 20 September, seven home-or-away ties involving 14 nations, with seven places in the Final 8 at stake.
That event returns to the SuperTennis Arena in Bologna from 24 to 29 November, where Italy already hold the eighth place as host and defending champion, and where they will be going for a fourth consecutive title. The home nation in each tie chooses the venue, the surface and which of the two date options to use, which is why the draw matters almost as much as the rankings do.
Nowhere does it matter more than in Chile. Spain travel to the Estadio Nacional in Santiago to play on clay, the same court on which Chile beat Serbia 4-0 in the first round in February. Spain are the only seeded nation drawn away to an outdoor clay court in this round. The heaviest tie on paper is in Prague, where Czechia host the United States at the O2 Arena on indoor hard. Czechia came through the first round 3-1 against Sweden in Jihlava; the Americans went to Tatabanya and beat Hungary 4-0 on indoor clay, which is the harder of the two results to dismiss.
Canada host France at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, also indoors on hard. Canada needed all five rubbers to get past Brazil 3-2 in Vancouver in February. France beat Slovakia 3-1 in Le Portel. Austria have taken the other clay option, putting Belgium on an indoor clay court at the Vienna Athletic Sports Club. Austria won 3-2 in Tokyo against Japan in the first round; Belgium beat Bulgaria 4-0 in Plovdiv, on indoor clay, so the surface is not the ambush it might have been.
The remaining three ties are all on hard courts. Germany host Croatia at the Heristo Arena in Halle, indoors. Great Britain host Ecuador at the Copper Box Arena in London, also indoors, which takes Ecuador as far as possible from the Quito clay on which they beat Australia 3-1 in February. And in the only tie between two unseeded nations, South Korea host India at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center on outdoor hard. Korea beat Argentina 3-2 in Busan to get here; India beat the Netherlands 3-2 in Bengaluru.
Each tie is decided over five rubbers across two days: two singles matches on the first day, then the doubles followed by two reverse singles on the second. The seven winners complete the Bologna field. The seven losers drop into the first round of the 2027 Qualifiers in February.
It is the first competitive men’s tennis of consequence after the US Open, and it lands in the week before the Laver Cup at the O2 in London. Squad announcements are the thing to watch between now and Friday, because the two events are five days apart and several players are plausibly wanted by both. For how the Davis Cup fits alongside the other national team competitions, see our guide to team tennis.
