1996 Davis Cup

1996 Davis Cup
Details
Duration	9 February – 1 December 1996
Edition	85th
Teams	124
Champion
Winning nation	France
	← 1995 1997 →

Last updated April 10, 2025

The 1996 Davis Cup (also known as the 1996 Davis Cup by NEC for sponsorship purposes) was the 85th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 124 teams entered the competition, 16 in the World Group, 26 in the Americas Zone, 29 in the Asia/Oceania Zone, and 53 in the Europe/Africa Zone. Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Panama made their first appearances in the tournament.

World Group

Participating teams
Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark
France	Germany	Hungary	India
Italy	Mexico	Netherlands	Russia
South Africa	Sweden	Switzerland	United States

Draw

First round
9–11 February

Quarterfinals
5–7 April

Semifinals
20–22 September

Final
29 November–1 December

Rome, Italy (clay)

Russia

2

Rome, Italy (clay)

Italy

3

Italy

4

Johannesburg, South Africa (indoor hard)

South Africa

1

Austria

2

Nantes, France (indoor carpet)

South Africa

3

Italy

2

Geneva, Switzerland (indoor clay)

France

3

Germany

5

Limoges, France (indoor clay)

Switzerland

0

Germany

0

Besançon, France (indoor hard)

France

5

France

5

Malmö, Sweden (indoor hard)

Denmark

0

France

3

Jaipur, India (grass)

Sweden

2

India

3

Calcutta, India (grass)

Netherlands

2

India

0

Katrineholm, Sweden (indoor carpet)

Sweden

5

Belgium

1

Prague, Czech Republic (indoor carpet)

Sweden

4

Sweden

4

Plzeň, Czech Republic (indoor carpet)

Czech Republic

1

Hungary

0

Prague, Czech Republic (indoor carpet)

Czech Republic

5

Czech Republic

3

Carlsbad, CA, United States (hard)

United States

2

Mexico

0

United States

5

Final

Sweden vs. France

Sweden
2

Massan Hall, Malmö ^[1]
29 November – 1 December 1996
Hard (indoors)

France
3

		1	2	3	4	5
1	Stefan Edberg Cédric Pioline	3 6	4 6	3 6
2	Thomas Enqvist Arnaud Boetsch	6 4	6 3	7⁷ 6²
3	Jonas Björkman / Nicklas Kulti Guy Forget / Guillaume Raoux	3 6	6 1	3 6	3 6
4	Thomas Enqvist Cédric Pioline	3 6	6⁸ 7¹⁰	6 4	6 4	9 7
5	Nicklas Kulti Arnaud Boetsch	6² 7⁷	6 2	6 4	6⁵ 7⁷	8 10

World Group qualifying round

Date: 20–22 September

The eight losing teams in the World Group first round ties and eight winners of the Zonal Group I final round ties competed in the World Group qualifying round for spots in the 1997 World Group.

Home team	Score	Visiting team	Location	Venue	Door	Surface
Mexico	3–2	Argentina	Mexico City	Club Alemán de México	Outdoor	Hard
Croatia	1–4	Australia	Split	Teniski klub Split	Outdoor	Clay
Brazil	4–1	Austria	São Paulo	Hotel Transamérica	Indoor	Carpet
Romania	3–2	Belgium	Bucharest	Arenele BNR	Outdoor	Clay
Spain	4–1	Denmark	Tarragona	Club de Tennis Tarragona	Outdoor	Clay
Russia	4–1	Hungary	Moscow	Olympic Stadium	Indoor	Carpet
Switzerland	5–0	Morocco	Olten	Olten Hallenstadion	Indoor	Carpet
Netherlands	4–1	New Zealand	Haarlem	Sportclub Haarlem	Outdoor	Hard

Mexico, Netherlands, Russia and Switzerland remain in the World Group in 1997.
Australia, Brazil, Romania and Spain are promoted to the World Group in 1997.
Argentina, Croatia, Morocco and New Zealand remain in Zonal Group I in 1997.
Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Hungary are relegated to Zonal Group I in 1997.

Americas Zone

Group I

Second Round Play-offs

First Round Play-offs

First Round

Second Round

Mar del Plata, Argentina (clay)

Nassau, Bahamas (hard)

Argentina

4

Peru

2

Bahamas

1

Santiago, Chile (clay)

Bahamas

3

Peru

0

Santiago, Chile (clay)

Chile

5

Brazil

3

Edmonton, Canada (indoor carpet)

Santos, Brazil (clay)

Chile

2

Chile

2

Brazil

4

Valencia, Venezuela (hard)

Canada

3

Venezuela

1

Canada

2

Venezuela

3

Peru relegated to Group II in 1997.
Argentina and Brazil advance to World Group qualifying round.

Group II

Relegation Play-offs

First Round

Second Round

Third Round

Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)

Uruguay

5

Guatemala City, Guatemala (hard)

Guatemala

0

Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)

Guatemala

1

Uruguay

3

Puerto Rico

4

Bogotá, Colombia (clay)

Colombia

2

Puerto Rico

0

Colombia

5

Guayaquil, Ecuador (clay)

Uruguay

1

Havana, Cuba (hard)

Ecuador

4

Cuba

3

Asunción, Paraguay (clay)

Paraguay

2

Havana, Cuba (hard)

Paraguay

5

Cuba

0

Barbados

0

Guayaquil, Ecuador (clay)

Ecuador

3

Barbados

0

Ecuador

5

Guatemala and Barbados relegated to Group III in 1997.
Ecuador promoted to Group I in 1997.

Group III

Venue: Maya Country Club, San Salvador, El Salvador
Date: 6–10 March

Group A

	HAI	DOM	TRI	ATG	CRC	RR W–L	Match W–L	Set W–L	Standings
Haiti		3–0	3–0	3–0	3–0	4–0	12–0 (100%)	24–1 (96%)	1
Dominican Republic	0–3		3–0	2–1	3–0	3–1	8–4 (67%)	17–9 (65%)	2
Trinidad and Tobago	0–3	0–3		2–1	2–1	2–2	4–8 (33%)	8–19 (30%)	3
Antigua and Barbuda	0–3	1–2	1–2		3–0	1–3	5–7 (42%)	11–16 (41%)	4
Costa Rica	0–3	0–3	1–2	0–3		0–4	1–11 (8%)	7–22 (24%)	5

Group B

	ESA	PAN	JAM	BOL	BER	ECA	RR W–L	Match W–L	Set W–L	Standings
El Salvador		3–0	2–1	3–0	3–0	3–0	5–0	14–1 (93%)	28–3 (90%)	1
Panama	0–3		3–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	4–1	9–6 (60%)	21–14 (60%)	2
Jamaica	1–2	0–3		2–1	3–0	2–1	3–2	8–7 (53%)	17–17 (50%)	3
Bolivia	0–3	1–2	1–2		3–0	3–0	2–3	8–7 (53%)	18–15 (55%)	4
Bermuda	0–3	1–2	0–3	0–3		2–1	1–4	3–12 (20%)	8–27 (23%)	5
Eastern Caribbean	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–3	1–2		0–5	3–12 (20%)	9–25 (26%)	6

Haiti and El Salvador promoted to Group II in 1997.
Costa Rica, Bermuda and Eastern Caribbean assigned to Group IV in 1997.