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Italy Davis Cup team facts for kids

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Italy
Flag of Italy.svg
Captain Filippo Volandri
ITF ranking 1 Steady (27 November 2023)
First year 1922
Years played 84
Ties played (W–L) 242 (159–83)
Years in
World Group		 24 (19–23)
Davis Cup titles 3 (1976, 2023, 2024)
Runners-up 6 (1960, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1998)
Most total wins Nicola Pietrangeli (120–44)
Most singles wins Nicola Pietrangeli (78–32)
Most doubles wins Nicola Pietrangeli (42–12)
Best doubles team Orlando Sirola,
Nicola Pietrangeli (34–8)
Most ties played Nicola Pietrangeli (66)
Most years played Nicola Pietrangeli (18)

The Italy men's national tennis team plays for Italy in the Davis Cup, a big international tennis competition. The Italian Tennis Federation manages the team. Italy is currently the champion, having won the Davis Cup in 2024. They have won the title three times in total, also in 1976 and 2023. They have also been runners-up six times.

Nicola Pietrangeli is one of Italy's most famous players. He holds many records for the team, including playing in the most Davis Cup matches and winning the most games overall.

Team History

Early Days: Before World War II

Italy first joined the Davis Cup in 1922. Before World War II, they often reached the quarterfinals in their European section. They even made it to the Inter-zonal final twice, in 1928 and 1930. The Inter-zonal final was the last match before the Challenge Round, where the winner would play the defending champions. Both times, Italy lost to the United States. Uberto De Morpurgo was the captain and the only Italian player to win a match in those finals.

After World War II: Strong Performances

After World War II, Italy returned to the Davis Cup in 1948. They were very strong during this time. They reached the Inter-zonal finals four more times before finally making it to their first Challenge Round in 1960. However, they lost to a powerful Australian team, which included tennis legends Rod Laver and Neale Fraser.

The next year, in 1961, Italy reached the Challenge Round Final again. They beat the United States to get there, with Nicola Pietrangeli winning all his matches. But once more, they lost to Australia, this time 5-0.

First Davis Cup Title

After a quieter period, Italy found its form again in the 1970s. In 1976, they won their first-ever Davis Cup title! They beat Chile 4-1 in Santiago. Corrado Barazzutti and Adriano Panatta won their singles matches on the first day. Then, Panatta and Paolo Bertolucci won the doubles match, securing the championship for Italy. Over the next four years, Italy reached the final three more times but lost each one.

Coppa Davis 1976 - Pietrangeli, Bertolucci, Panatta e Barazzutti
Nicola Pietrangeli, Paolo Bertolucci, Adriano Panatta and Corrado Barazzutti with the trophy in 1976
Nicola Pietrangeli cropped
Nicola Pietrangeli, team captain for the country's first Davis Cup championship in 1976

World Group Era: Staying at the Top

From 1981, the Davis Cup introduced the "World Group" format, which included the top 16 teams. Italy managed to stay in this top group for twenty years. During this time, they reached the quarterfinals or better in twelve of those years. They made it to the semifinals twice and the final once, in 1998, where they were runners-up.

In 2000, Italy lost to Spain and then to Belgium, which meant they were moved out of the World Group for the first time.

Return to the Top

After being out of the World Group for a while, Italy worked hard to get back. They returned to the World Group in 2011. Between 2013 and 2018, they reached the quarterfinals four times and the semifinals once.

Then, in 2023, twenty-five years after their last final and 47 years after their first victory, Italy won the Davis Cup again! They beat Australia 2-0 in the final.

On November 24, 2024, Jannik Sinner led Italy to another victory, beating the Netherlands 2-0. This gave Italy their third Davis Cup title. It was a special year because Italy's women's team also won the Billie Jean King Cup.

Team Records

Italy has played in many Davis Cup matches since 1922. They have a winning record against 36 different countries. They have never lost a match against 19 nations, including Poland (9 wins). However, they have not yet won a match against Canada in four tries.

Key Player Records

Here are some of the top players for Italy based on their Davis Cup performances:

Team Captains

The team captain is like the coach for the Davis Cup team. Italy's first captain was Baron Uberto De Morpurgo in 1928, who also played on the team. Later, the captain became a "non-playing captain," meaning they coached but didn't play.

List of Italy Davis Cup captains
Name Tenure Total Finals Best result
W Years F Years S Years
Uberto de Morpurgo 1928–?
Vasco Valerio [it] 1965–1968 4 QF 1968
Orlando Sirola 1969–1971 3 3R 1969
Giordano Maioli 1972 1 3R 1972
Fausto Gardini 1973–1975 3 SF 1974
Nicola Pietrangeli 1976–1977 3 1 1976 1 1977 n/a
Bitti Bergamo [it] 1978–1979 2 1 19791 n/a
Vittorio Crotta 1979–1983 4 2 19791, 1980 n/a
Adriano Panatta 1984–1997 14 SF 1996, 1997
Paolo Bertolucci 1998–2000 3 1 1998 n/a
Corrado Barazzutti 2001–2020 20 SF 2014
Filippo Volandri 2021– 3 2 2023, 2024 n/a

Winning Teams

These are the players who were part of Italy's winning Davis Cup teams:

1976 Champions

  • Adriano Panatta
  • Corrado Barazzutti
  • Paolo Bertolucci
  • Tonino Zugarelli
  • Captain: Nicola Pietrangeli

2023 Champions

2024 Champions

See also

  • Italy Davis Cup team all-time record
  • List of Italy Davis Cup team representatives
  • Tennis in Italy
  • Italy Fed Cup team
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