Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1503920
2022 ITF Annual Review 40 MAJOR EVENTS Davis Cup A record 145 na ons took part in Davis Cup in 2022, and the men's World Cup of Tennis returned to being an annual compe on following the pandemic disrup on of the previous two years. History was made on court too, as Canada were crowned Davis Cup champions for the first me in the event's 123 years, breaking through with an inspired young team who had been runners-up in 2019. Davis Cup Finals The ITF held the third edi on of the Davis Cup Finals, which we introduced in 2019 as the elite top er of the compe on. Na ons advanced to the Finals following Davis Cup Qualifier es played on a home-and-away basis in March. New for 2022, we split the Davis Cup Finals into two stages: the Group Stage in September, featuring 16 teams compe ng in four ci es in a round-robin format, and the Final 8 in November, with the top eight na ons playing in a knock-out format to decide the Davis Cup World Champions. The venues for the Group Stage were Bologna, Glasgow, Hamburg and Valencia, and the Final 8 was held in Malaga, Spain. This revised model, with five host ci es instead of one, was built on the success of the 2021 mul -city format for the Davis Cup Finals. It gives this global compe on greater reach and more chances for fans to get involved, as well as increasing hos ng op ons. It also eases pressure on player schedules, with the Davis Cup season finishing two months earlier than previously for half of the teams involved. The Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga was a spectacular finale to the 2022 compe on, surpassing the previous two edi ons of the Finals for fan a endance, TV viewership, social media reach and the player and fan experience. Thirteen of the Top 30 men took part. In 2023, we will deliver another world- class event, with the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage being held this year in Bologna, Manchester, Valencia and a city to be confirmed in Croa a, and the Final 8 returning to Malaga. World Group and regional events The Davis Cup is the largest annual interna onal team compe on in sport and thrived across all levels in 2022. In March a total of 68 na ons competed in 34 es in the Qualifiers, World Group I and World Group II Play-offs. There were 24 further home-and- away es in September in World Group I and World Group II, with a geographical spread of na ons from every region. Benin, having been For 2023 and beyond, the dates for the Davis Cup Finals and Qualifier es are an official part of the men's tennis calendar, thanks to an unprecedented strategic alliance between the ITF and the ATP.