On Sunday, prior to the Davis Cup Final in Bologna, Italy, the draw for the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers 1st Round was conducted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Team Canada has been drawn to host a Qualifier tie against Brazil, which will take place from February 6 to 7, or February 7 to 8, 2026. The choice of playing surface and venue will be confirmed by Tennis Canada in due course.
During the 2025 season, the Canadian team captained by Frank Dancevic lost in the Qualifiers 1st Round to Hungary, nearly staging a spectacular comeback after losing the first two matches and the decisive fifth match in a thrilling 3-2 encounter. To avoid starting 2026 in World Group I Play-Off, Team Canada defeated Israel 4-0 in September, thanks to victories from Gabriel Diallo (Montreal, QC), Liam Draxl (Newmarket, ON), and Cleeve Harper (Calgary, AB), who made his Davis Cup debut alongside Draxl in doubles before winning his maiden singles match.
Canada is currently No. 7 in the world rankings and will play against the No. 18-ranked country, Brazil. This will be the seventh meeting between the two countries, having previously faced each other in 2007 in Florianopolis, Brazil, where Canada lost 3-1, with Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer securing their one win in doubles. Brazil currently leads their head-to-head 4-2.
The Qualifier tie will consist of two singles matches on the first day, followed by a doubles match and two singles matches on the second day. The winning nation will progress to the Qualifiers 2nd Round in September, another home-or-away tie, with the hope of reaching the Davis Cup Final 8 in November.
The draw results for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 1st Round are listed below. Italy, host nation of next year's Final 8, receives a wild card into the final stage of the tournament. Spain is seeded No. 1 in the draw and receives a bye to the Qualifiers 2nd Round.
Spain (1) receives a bye to Qualifiers 2nd Round
Chile (c)* v Serbia (14)
Germany (2) (c)* v Peru
Croatia (13) (c) v Denmark
Ecuador (c) v Australia (3)
Norway (c)* v Great Britain (12)
Bulgaria (c) v Belgium (4)
Japan (c)* v Austria (11)
India (c) v Netherlands (5)
Korea, Rep. (c)* v Argentina (10)
Hungary (c)* v USA (6)
Czechia (9) (c) v Sweden
France (7) (c)* v Slovakia
Canada (8) (c) v Brazil
(c) = choice of ground; * = choice of ground decided by lot
Photo: Pascal Ratthe
