Fed Cup and Davis Cup Finals Postponed Until 2021
(June 26, 2020) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has postponed the Fed Cup and Davis Cup Finals until 2021.
The 12 teams which have already qualified for this year’s Finals will compete at the rescheduled Finals in April 2021, with the draw for the Finals remaining as published.
The 2020 Fed Cup Play-offs, which were also due to take place in April 2020, will now be played in February 2021.
Additionally, the four outstanding 2020 regional events that were due to be played in 2020 (two events in Americas Group II, one event in Asia/Oceania Group II, and the Europe/Africa Group III event) will now be played in 2021, with dates to be announced in due course.
David Haggerty, ITF President, said: “Earlier this year, we took the difficult but necessary decision to postpone the first edition of the new-look Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is regrettable that the Finals will not be able to take place this year, we are confident that we will be able to host a superb event in Budapest in April 2021.
“In these extraordinary times, we believe that the best way forward in order both to protect the health and safety of all involved and to best respect the integrity of the competition is to extend this year’s Fed Cup into 2021, with the event returning to an annual basis the following year.
As for Davis Cup, the 2020 Finals will now take place week commencing 22 November 2021, the 2021 Finals will feature the 18 teams due to compete in the 2020 Finals and 24 home-and-away World Group I and World Group II ties due to be played in September this year will be postponed until 2021.
David Haggerty said: “This is a tough decision to have to make, but delivering an international team event on this scale while guaranteeing the health and safety of all involved ultimately poses too great a risk. It is a complex undertaking and we have made the decision now to provide certainty for players, National Associations and fans. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Kosmos Tennis in order to deliver a fantastic competition next year”.
