Italy will compete in the Davis Cup Finals this November.
The Italians are three-time defending champions and clear favourites to win again in 2026, but their title hopes will take a major hit if Jannik Sinner decides not to play.
In 2025, Sinner missed Italy’s most recent Davis Cup triumph, choosing instead to rest up after a demanding season in which he won two Grand Slams and the ATP Finals.
Which team will win the 2026 Davis Cup?
The Italians have won three in a row… 🇮🇹
Italy’s team captain, Filippo Volandri, has now been asked whether he believes Sinner will return to the side for the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna.
Filippo Volandri insists Jannik Sinner will want to play at the Davis Cup Finals
As reported by ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport‘, Volandri was asked whether Sinner would return to Italy’s Davis Cup team in November.
“Jannik [Sinner] is following his recovery program to return to peak performance. He’s been training for about ten days now, gradually increasing the loads he’s undergoing, and when he returns, he’ll be competitive straight away. I’m sure that if he’s confident he’s back in top form on the eve of the Davis Cup, he’ll want to do everything he can to be there,” said Volandri.
Sinner hasn’t played since Wimbledon and skipped the US Open to recover from a knee injury. He is expected to return next week for the China Open and should therefore be fit for the Davis Cup Finals in November.
There, Sinner could play his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, for just the second time this season. Italy and Spain, the top two seeds, are projected to meet in the final. Volandri was asked about Spain’s chances and whether he believed Alcaraz would return to the competition after he, too, skipped the 2025 Davis Cup Finals.
“Aside from the fact that [David] Ferrer can count on other excellent players, we’ll see how Carlos [Alcaraz] performs over the next two months. Certainly, if he’s well, he’ll definitely be in Bologna: he was supposed to play last year, but he got injured just before the match. And he’s often said that the Davis Cup is a major career goal,” he said.
Sinner has already won two Davis Cup titles with Italy since debuting in 2022, but Alcaraz has yet to lift the ‘World Cup of Tennis’. The Spaniard missed the 2025 Davis Cup Finals, where his nation lost to Italy in the final.
Italy’s Davis Cup record since Jannik Sinner made his debut
| Year | Italy’s Davis Cup result | Did Jannik Sinner play? | Jannik Sinner’s record |
| 2026 | Quarter-final (In progress) | No | 0-0 |
| 2025 | Champions | No | 0-0 |
| 2024 | Champions | Yes | 4-0 |
| 2023 | Champions | Yes | 5-0 |
| 2022 | Semi-final | Yes | 3-2 |
| 2021 | Quarter-final | Yes | 3-2 |
Spain’s Davis Cup record since Carlos Alcaraz made his debut
| Year | Spain’s Davis Cup result | Did Carlos Alcaraz play? | Carlos Alcaraz’s record |
| 2026 | Quarter-final (In progress) | No | 0-0 |
| 2025 | Final | No | 0-0 |
| 2024 | Quarter-final | Yes | 4-1 |
| 2023 | Group Stage | No | 0-0 |
| 2022 | Quarter-final | Yes | 2-1 |
It remains to be seen whether the world number one and three will attend the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna. However, the world number two looks set to represent his country, as he did in qualifying after the US Open.
Filippo Volandri praises Alexander Zverev for his Davis Cup participation
Days after winning his second Grand Slam title at the US Open, Zverev travelled to Halle for Germany’s Davis Cup qualifier against Croatia. The big German won both his singles matches to secure his side a place in the quarter-finals.
Volandri has now delivered his verdict on Zverev’s commitment to the Davis Cup.
“[Alexander] Zverev and [Ben] Shelton made a trans-oceanic journey the day after their US Open final to play in the playoff. This gives great value to the competition. And ultimately, the Davis Cup may change its essence, but in its uniqueness it retains an unparalleled charm,” he said.
“He still prefers the old format with home-and-away matches, but he knows he can seize a great opportunity. I spoke to him a bit at last year’s Finals, and he told me that the team’s atmosphere is very positive now and that everyone knows they need to take advantage of this window of opportunity. It’s a group of players in their thirties and older who feel they don’t have much of a chance in the near future.”
Germany, seeded third are one of the favourites for the competition, along with Italy and Spain. Zverev has won almost everything there is to win, but like Alcaraz, he has yet to add the Davis Cup to his trophy cabinet.
2026 Davis Cup quarter-finals
- [1] Italy vs South Korea
- Canada vs [4] Czechia
- [3] Germany vs Great Britain
- Austria vs [2] Spain
Only time will tell if Sinner, Alcaraz, or Zverev, will get their hands on the Davis Cup later this year. The 2026 Davis Cup Finals begin on Tuesday, November 24.
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