The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual team sporting competition. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis", and the winners are referred to as the World Champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2023, 155 nations entered teams into the competition.
The Billie Jean King Cup is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was changed to the Fed Cup in 1995, and changed again in September 2020 in honor of former World No. 1 Billie Jean King. The Billie Jean King Cup is the world's largest annual women's international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete. The current chair is Katrina Adams.
Jaroslav Drobný was a world No. 1 amateur tennis and ice hockey champion. He left Czechoslovakia in 1949 and travelled as an Egyptian citizen before becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom in 1959, where he died in 2001. In 1951, he became the first and, to date, only player with Egyptian citizenship to win the French Open, while doing likewise at the Wimbledon Championships in 1954. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983. He played internationally for the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
The United States men's national tennis team represents the United States in Davis Cup tennis competition, and is governed by the United States Tennis Association.
The Germany Davis Cup team represents Germany in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the German Tennis Federation. As East Germany never participated in the Davis Cup, and the Deutscher Tennisbund remained the same organization throughout the century, the West German Davis Cup team is included in this article.
The Spain men's national tennis team has represented Spain internationally since 1920. Organised by the Real Federación Española de Tenis (RFET), it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federation's European association.
The Croatia men's national tennis team represents Croatia in the Davis Cup and is governed by the Croatian Tennis Association.Croatia won the Davis Cup twice, in 2005 and 2018, and was runner-up in 2016 and 2021.
The Italy men's national tennis team represents Italy in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Italian Tennis Federation. Italy is the reigning champions, claiming the Davis Cup in 2023. It is two-time champions overall, also winning in 1976, and finishing as runners-up six times. Nicola Pietrangeli is one of Italy's most decorated players, featuring in all major records for the team. He holds the record for most Davis Cup ties, most overall wins, most singles wins, most doubles wins, and most years played.
The Kazakhstan men's national tennis team represents Kazakhstan in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. In 2011, Kazakhstan competed in the World Group for the first time after they won against Switzerland in the 2010 World Group play-offs. After the first round win against the Czech Republic in 2011, Kazakhstan secured their spot in the World Group for the 2012 Davis Cup. They lost in the first round to Spain, but defeated Uzbekistan in the play-offs, which again kept them in the World Group for 2013. In 2013, they defeated Austria in the first round, but lost to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
The Czechoslovakia men's national tennis team competed from 1921–1992, winning the tournament once, in 1980. From 1993, the nations competed as:
The 1993 Davis Cup was the 82nd edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 100 teams would enter the competition, 16 in the World Group, 22 in the Americas Zone, 23 in the Asia/Oceania Zone, and 39 in the Europe/Africa Zone. Benin, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Djibouti, Latvia, Russia, San Marino, Slovenia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates made their first appearances in the tournament.
Various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in Bratislava, with many sport teams and individuals competing in the best Slovak and international leagues and competitions. Many significant sports events, such as World and European Championships, have been held in Bratislava. The 2011 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were held in Bratislava, along with Košice. A new arena was built to host this event.
The Canada women's national tennisteam represents Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition since 1963. They are overseen by Tennis Canada, the governing body of tennis in Canada.
Sports play a significant part in the life of many Czechs who are generally loyal supporters of their favourite teams or individuals.
Ladislav Hecht was a Jewish Czechoslovak-American professional tennis player. He won the gold medal in singles at the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, and won the 1934 Hungarian International Tennis Singles Championship. In 1937 he reached the semifinals of the doubles at Wimbledon with Roderich Menzel, and the following year he reached the 1938 Wimbledon quarterfinals in singles. Despite being Jewish, he was invited to the Germany Davis Cup team in 1938 by an aide to Adolf Hitler who was not aware that he was Jewish, but chose not to accept the invitation. He represented Czechoslovakia in the Davis Cup during the 1930s, was captain of the team, and had a record of 18-19. In the 1930s, he was ranked world No. 6 in singles.
Roderich Ferdinand Ottomar Menzel was a Czech-German amateur tennis player and, after his active career, a writer.
Jan Kukal is a former professional tennis player who competed for Czechoslovakia.
Association football is the most popular sport in nearly every European country, and UEFA is one of the six confederations of world football's governing body FIFA. UEFA contains 55 national association members, some of which are partially or entirely located in Asia. A total of 33 of the current members of UEFA have competed at the men's FIFA World Cup, while the defunct East Germany qualified once.
