Australia Davis Cup team facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Australia

Association	Tennis Australia
Captain	Lleyton Hewitt
Coach	Josh Eagle
ITF ranking	2 (2 February 2023)
Colors	Green & Gold

First year	1923 (1905 as Australasia)
Years played	102
Ties played (W–L)	266 (193–73)
Years in World Group	34 (56–29)
Davis Cup titles	28 (1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1919, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1999, 2003)
Runners-up	21 (1912, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1990, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2022, 2023)

Most total wins	Lleyton Hewitt (59–21)
Most singles wins	Lleyton Hewitt (42–14)
Most doubles wins	Todd Woodbridge (25–7)
Best doubles team	Mark Woodforde / Todd Woodbridge (14–2)
Most ties played	Lleyton Hewitt (43)
Most years played	Lleyton Hewitt (19)
Last updated on: 6 September 2022.

The Australia Davis Cup team is one of the most successful teams in the history of the Davis Cup. They have won this important tennis competition 28 times! Only the United States has won it more often, with 32 titles.

Before 1923, Australia also won the Davis Cup six times as part of the Australasia team. This team included players from both Australia and New Zealand.

The Story of Australia's Davis Cup Team
Big Rivalries
- Australia vs. United States
Recent Matches
- 2022 Davis Cup: Finalist
- 2023 Davis Cup: Finalist Again!
Meet the Players
- Current Team
Team Leaders: Captains
Amazing Records and Stats
- Player and Team Records
- Top Players: Appearances and Wins
How Australia Has Performed Over Time

The Story of Australia's Davis Cup Team

Australasia: Working Together (1905–1922)

Even though Australia and New Zealand are separate countries, their tennis players teamed up for the Davis Cup in the early 1900s. They played as the Australasia team.

Australian players first joined the Davis Cup in 1905 as part of this combined team. This allowed players from New Zealand to compete alongside them. Interestingly, only one New Zealander, Anthony Wilding, ever played for the Australasia team.

During this time, the Australasia team won the Davis Cup six times. These victories happened in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, and 1919.

In 1920, Australasia lost to the United States Davis Cup team in the final round in Auckland. They reached the final again in 1921 and 1922. In 1922, they lost to the United States in New York City. This was the last time the two nations competed together. After this, Australia and New Zealand started playing as their own separate teams.

Australia's Early Years (1923–1937)

When Australia first competed as its own team in 1923, they reached the final round. However, they lost to the United States in New York City. The next year, Australia beat Japan and France to set up another final against the US. They lost again, this time in Philadelphia.

The next few years were a bit tough for Australia. They either didn't play in the competition or were knocked out early. But they started to get strong again in 1933. They won several matches before losing to Great Britain.

In 1936, Australia made it to the final against Great Britain. Great Britain won the match, playing at home in Wimbledon. In 1937, Australia lost to the United States. However, this period was just before Australia became a truly dominant force in Davis Cup tennis.

A Time of Great Success

From 1937 to 1973, almost every Davis Cup winner was either Australia or the United States. They played against each other in the final 31 times! Australia won the Davis Cup title 17 times during this amazing period.

Between 1938 and 1968, Australia played in the final round for 25 years in a row. They won 16 titles and were runners-up 9 times. They even set a record by winning four titles in a row, which they did three separate times!

The only decades Australia didn't win the Davis Cup were the 1920s, 1940s, and 2010s. They were runners-up many times in the 1920s and 1940s.

After their 1973 victory, Australia won the title five more times. These wins were in 1977, 1983, 1986, 1999, and 2003. From 1999 to 2003, Australia reached the final four times, winning in 1999 and 2003.

The 2000s and 2010s

In 2003, Lleyton Hewitt made an incredible comeback against Roger Federer of Switzerland. Hewitt won after being two sets down, helping Australia reach the Davis Cup final. In the final, Australia beat Spain 3–1 in Melbourne. Mark Philippoussis, even with an injury, won his match to secure the title.

After their 2003 win, Australia lost to Sweden in 2004. They then had to play a qualifying match against Morocco, which they won. This secured their spot in the 2005 Davis Cup. They easily won their first round against Austria but lost to Argentina in the next round.

In 2006, Australia beat Switzerland and Belarus, but then lost to Argentina in the semifinals. In 2007, Australia lost to Belgium and then to Serbia in the playoffs.

The 2008 Davis Cup saw Australia win against Chinese Taipei and Thailand. However, they lost to Chile in the world group playoffs. In 2009, Australia beat Thailand but refused to play against India due to security concerns, so India advanced.

In the 2010s, Australia continued to compete in the Asia/Oceania playoffs. They won against Chinese Taipei and Japan in 2010 but lost to Belgium. In 2011, they lost to Switzerland in the playoffs. In 2012, they beat China and South Korea but lost to Germany.

Big Rivalries

Australia vs. United States

Australia and the United States have a long and exciting rivalry in the Davis Cup. Both teams were very strong for many years.

They have played each other in the Davis Cup final 29 times! Australia has won 15 of these finals, and the US has won 14. Their first final match was in 1908, which Australia won. Australia also won the next two finals against the US in 1909 and 1911. Their last final meeting was in 1990, which the US won.

In recent years, they haven't played each other as often. From 1999 to 2016, they didn't meet at all. They last played in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Davis Cup. Overall, the US leads their total matches 26–22.

Recent Matches

2022 Davis Cup: Finalist

Australia had a great run in the 2022 Davis Cup, reaching the finals for the 20th time! They won 5 matches and lost 2 overall.

Qualifying Round: They beat Hungary 3–2 in Sydney.
Group Stage: In Hamburg, they beat Belgium 3–0 and France 2–1. They lost to Germany 1–2.
Quarterfinals: In Malaga, they defeated Netherlands 2–0.
Semifinals: They beat Croatia 2–1 in Malaga.
Final: In the final, they lost to Canada 0–2 in Malaga.

2023 Davis Cup: Finalist Again!

Australia reached the Davis Cup finals for the second year in a row in 2023. This was their 21st time in the final. They had an overall record of 4 wins and 2 losses.

Group Stage: In Manchester, they lost to Great Britain 1–2. But they bounced back, beating France 2–1 and Switzerland 3–0.
Quarterfinals: In Málaga, they won against Czech Republic 2–1.
Semifinals: They defeated Finland 2–0 in Málaga.
Final: In the final match, they lost to Italy 0–2 in Málaga.

Meet the Players

Current Team

Here are the players who were chosen for the 2024 Davis Cup Finals Group stage. This information is from September 10, 2024.

Squad representing Australia in the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, Group stage
Player	Born	ATP ranking		Debut	Ties	Win-loss			ATP Profile
Player	Born	Singles	Doubles	Debut	Ties	Singles	Doubles	Total	ATP Profile
de Minaur, AlexAlex de Minaur	(1999-02-17) 17 February 1999 (age 26)	9	–	2018	22	15–9	–	0–1
Popyrin, AlexeiAlexei Popyrin	(1999-09-05) 5 September 1999 (age 25)	24	868	2019	4	2–2	–	2–2
Thompson, JordanJordan Thompson	(1994-04-20) 20 April 1994 (age 31)	29	7	2017	12	5–3	4–2	9–5
Ebden, MatthewMatthew Ebden	(1987-11-26) 26 November 1987 (age 37)	–	5	2012	12	4–0	7–2	11–2
Purcell, MaxMax Purcell	(1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 (age 27)	89	8	2022	8	0–2	7–1	7–3
Kokkinakis, ThanasiThanasi Kokkinakis	(1996-04-10) 10 April 1996 (age 29)	78	429	2014	10	5–7	–	5–7
Non-playing captain: Lleyton Hewitt

Team Leaders: Captains

Since Australia first joined the Davis Cup in 1905, 19 different people have been the team captain.

Name	Years as Captain	Total	Finals				Best Result
Name	Years as Captain	Total	W	Years	F	Years	S	Years
Brookes, NormanNorman Brookes	1905–1914, 1919–1920, 1935	12	6	1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1919	2	1912, 1920	n/a
Peach, NormanNorman Peach	1921	1			1	1921	n/a
Anderson, JamesJames Anderson	1922–1923	2			2	1922, 1923	n/a
Patterson, GeraldGerald Patterson	1924, 1928, 1946	3			2	1924, 1946	n/a
Hawkes, JohnJohn Hawkes	1925	1					3rd	1925
Willard, JamesJames Willard	1930	1					4R	1930
Clemenger, JackJack Clemenger	1932	1					3R	1932
Youdale, StanleyStanley Youdale	1933–1934	2					3rd	1934
Sproule, CliffCliff Sproule	1936–1937	2			1	1936	n/a
Hopman, HarryHarry Hopman	1938–1939, 1950–1969	22	16	1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967	5	1938, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968	n/a
Roy Cowling	1947	1			1	1947	n/a
Adrian Quist	1948	1			1	1948	n/a
John Bromwich	1949	1			1	1949	n/a
Neale Fraser	1970–1994	25	4	1973, 1977, 1983, 1986	2	1990, 1993	n/a
John Newcombe	1995–2000	6	1	1999	1	2000	n/a
John Fitzgerald	2001–2010	10	1	2003	1	2001	n/a
Pat Rafter	2011–2014	4					1R	2014
Wally Masur	2015	1					SF	2015
Lleyton Hewitt	2016–	9			2	2022, 2023	n/a

Amazing Records and Stats

Player and Team Records

Here are some cool facts about the Australia Davis Cup team and its players:

Record

Details

Youngest player

17 years, 84 days

Vivian McGrath

Played in 1933 against Norway in Oslo.

Oldest player

43 years, 46 days

Norman Brookes

Played in the 1920 final against the USA in Auckland.

Longest match (one rubber)

4 hours, 30 minutes

Lleyton Hewitt lost to Kristof Vliegen (BEL)

In 2007 against Belgium in Liege.

Longest team match (tie)

15 hours, 19 minutes

Australia lost to Belgium

In 2007 against Belgium in Liege.

Longest tie-break

28 points (15–13)

Pat Rafter defeated David Rikl (CZE)

In 1997 against Czech Republic in Adelaide.

Longest final set

30 games (16–14)

Tony Wilding (ANZ) defeated Arthur Lowe (GBR)

In 1914 against Great Britain in Boston.

Most games in one set

38 (20–18)

Australia (Dibley/Roche) defeated Pakistan (Meer/Rahim)

In 1974 against Pakistan.

Most games in one match (rubber)

Australia (Alexander/Dibley) lost to India (Amritraj/Amritraj)

In 1974 against India.

Most games in a team match (tie)

327

Australia lost to India

In 1974 against India.

Biggest win (best of 5 matches)

15 sets (15–0)

Australia defeated China

In 1924 against China.

Biggest win (best of 3 matches)

5 sets (6–1)

Australia defeated Colombia

In 2019 against Colombia.

Longest winning streak

9 ties

From 1959 to 1962

#	Round	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score
1	North America Semifinals	18–20 Jul 1959	CD Chapultepec, Mexico City, MEX	Mexico	4–1
2	North America Final	24–26 Jul 1959	Mount Royal Tennis Club, Montreal, CAN	Canada	5–0
3	America Final	31 Jul–02 Aug 1959	Mount Royal Tennis Club, Montreal, CAN	Cuba	5–0
4	Inter-zonal Semifinals	7–10 Aug 1959	Germantown Cricket Club, Philadelphia, USA	Italy	4–1
5	Inter-zonal Final	14–16 Aug 1959	Longwood Cricket Club, Boston, USA	India	4–1
6	Challenge round Final	28–31 Aug 1959	Westside Tennis Club, Houston, USA	United States	3–2
7	Challenge round Final	26–28 Dec 1960	White City Stadium, Sydney, AUS	Italy	4–1
8	Challenge round Final	26–28 Dec 1961	Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne, AUS	Italy	5–0
9	Challenge round Final	26–28 Dec 1962	Milton Courts, Brisbane, AUS	Mexico	5–0

Most consecutive Davis Cup Final appearances

From 1938 to 1968

Australia reached the final every year for 25 years in a row!

Most consecutive Davis Cup Final appearances (since 1981)

From 1999 to 2001

Year	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score
1999	3–5 Dec	Acropolis Exhibition Hall, Nice, FRA	France	3–2
2000	8–10 Dec	Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, ESP	Spain	1–3
2001	30 Nov–2 Dec	Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, AUS	France	2–3

Most consecutive Davis Cup titles won

on four separate occasions

1907, 1908, 1909 and 1911	1950, 1951, 1952 and 1953	1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962	1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967

Most Davis Cup titles won by a player

Roy Emerson

He won 8 titles between 1959 and 1967.

Most Davis Cup titles won by a captain

Harry Hopman

He led the team to 16 victories between 1939 and 1967.

Top Players: Appearances and Wins

Here are some of the players who have played the most for Australia or have the best winning records.

Most Years Played
Rank	Player	Years
1	Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt	19
2	Woodbridge, ToddTodd Woodbridge	14
3	Alexander, JohnJohn Alexander	11
4	Woodforde, MarkMark Woodforde	10
4	Fitzgerald, JohnJohn Fitzgerald	10

Most Matches (Ties) Played
Rank	Player	Ties
1	Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt	43
2	Woodbridge, ToddTodd Woodbridge	32
3	Quist, AdrianAdrian Quist	28
4	Woodforde, MarkMark Woodforde	24
5	Bromwich, JohnJohn Bromwich	23

Highest Win Percentage
Rank	Player	Win%	W–L
1	Hartwig, RexRex Hartwig	92.3	12–1
2	Emerson, RoyRoy Emerson	89.5	34–4
3	Sedgman, FrankFrank Sedgman	89.3	25–3
4	Rosewall, KenKen Rosewall	86.4	19–3
5	Fraser, NealeNeale Fraser	85.7	18–3

Most Total Matches (Rubbers) Played
Rank	Player	Rbrs
1	Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt	79
2	Crawford, JackJack Crawford	57
3	Quist, AdrianAdrian Quist	56
4	Bromwich, JohnJohn Bromwich	51
5	Patterson, GeraldGerald Patterson	46

Most Total Matches (Rubbers) Won
Rank	Player	Wins
1	Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt	59
2	Quist, AdrianAdrian Quist	43
3	Bromwich, JohnJohn Bromwich	39
4	Crawford, JackJack Crawford	36
5	Emerson, RoyRoy Emerson	34

Most Singles Wins
Rank	Player	Wins
1	Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt	42
2	Quist, AdrianAdrian Quist	24
3	Cash, PatPat Cash	23
3	Crawford, JackJack Crawford	23
5	Emerson, RoyRoy Emerson	21

Most Doubles Wins
Rank	Player	Wins
1	Woodbridge, ToddTodd Woodbridge	25
2	Bromwich, JohnJohn Bromwich	20
3	Quist, AdrianAdrian Quist	19
4	Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt	17
4	Woodforde, MarkMark Woodforde	17

How Australia Has Performed Over Time

This table shows how Australia has done in the Davis Cup over the years.

**Key**
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Z#	PO	A	NH

Until 1971: (W) Challenge round winner; (F) Challenge round finalist; (SF) inter-zonal finalist; (QF) zonal finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (A) absent; (NH) not held.
From 1972: (W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist or zonal finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1 or (1R*) lost in World Group playoff; (RR) round-robin stage; (Z#) Davis Cup Zonal Group (with round), (PO) lost in World Group play-off or (PO*) won in World Group playoff; (A) absent; (NH) not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the team's participation has ended.

Year	1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
Result	A	NH	A	A	A	SF	SF	W	W	W	NH	W	F	1R	W	Not Held				W
W–L	—	—	—	—	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	1–0	—	1–0	0–1	0–1	4–0	—				1–0
Year	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Result	F	SF	F	F	F	SF	A	A	1R	A	4R	A	3R	QF	SF	3R	F	QF	F	W
W–L	0–1	3–1	4–1	2–1	4–1	3–1	—	—	0–1	—	3–1	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	6–0
Year	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Result	Not Held						F	F	F	F	W	W	W	W	F	W	W	W	F	W
W–L	—						0–1	2–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	6–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	6–0
Year	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Result	W	W	W	F	W	W	W	W	F	3R	4R	3R	SF	W	QF	SF	SF	W	SF	SF
W–L	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	5–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	4–0	2–1	2–1
Year	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Result	SF	SF	SF	W	SF	SF	W	SF	QF	1R	F	QF	QF	F	1R	1R*	PO*	SF	1R	W
W–L	2–1	2–1	2–1	4–0	2–1	2–1	4–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	3–0	2–1	1–1	4–0
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Result	F	F	1R	W	1R	QF	SF	1R*	PO	Z2	PO	PO	PO	PO*	1R	SF	1R	SF	1R	QF
W–L	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	3–1
Year	2020–21		2022	2023
Result	RR		F	F
W–L	2–1		5–2	4–2

All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:

Australia Davis Cup team Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.