Britain’s Davis Cup captain believes his team has a shot at claiming the title in 2026, as long as the country’s best players are able to participate.
Team GB secured a place in next year’s qualifiers with a 3-1 win over Poland in their two-day tie that concluded on Saturday. After racing to a 2-0 lead on the opening day in Gdynia, the former champions suffered a blip with a shock defeat in the doubles. The world’s top two doubles players, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, suffered a surprise 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) loss to Karol Drzewiecki and Jan Zielinski. A performance that was criticised by Dan Evans, who was commenting on the event for The Tennis Channel.
“I have to be honest, I thought the British guys together as a team were pretty poor. They were not as one out there,” said Evans.
“They were not bouncing off each other, not helping each other enough, and the Polish team were a better team.”
Despite the blip, Cameron Norrie sealed the decisive win by beating Olaf Pieczkowski 6-4, 6-4, in a match where he impressively dropped only three points behind his serve.
Britain’s latest victory was achieved without the presence of their top player, Jack Draper, who has ended his season early due to an elbow injury that has been troubling him since Wimbledon. Team captain Leon Smith believes Draper will be a key figure in their 2026 campaign and title chances.
“Honestly, I think we’ve got a really good chance [of winning],” TNT Sports quoted Smith as saying.
“It comes down to who is available to play. You need your top players to try and win it – that’s clear. But I hope the players are motivated to play.
“I think there’s an appetite from our top players to want to play, and of course, if you have got someone like Jack [Draper], when he comes into the team and you’ve got a top-tenner, it obviously makes a difference as well.
“We’ve got good depth with Cam [Norrie], Jacob [Fearnley], Arthur [Fery], and there are others, and with strong doubles options, you have a chance.”
Britain has won the Davis Cup 10 times, with their most recent triumph being in 2015. Since the format of the event was changed, their best result was reaching the semi-finals in 2019, as well as the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2023. Under the new system, the top eight teams participate in a week-long Finals, which involves groups and then knockout rounds.
“The most important thing is that we got the job done in a tie like this,” Smith continued. “We did a very professional job. It was good to get Arthur Fery his debut and it was a winning one which is a great experience for him.
“Then you have Cam Norrie in your team, who is so rich in experience. We didn’t drop a set in the singles, which shows the respect we gave the opposition.
“We can look forward now to the draw for next year.”
In the ATP rankings, Britain currently has three singles players and eight doubles players in the top 100.
The draw for the 2026 qualifiers will take place after this year’s Finals.
