World No.8 Alex de Minaur, [19] Alexei Popyrin, [50] Jordan Thompson and doubles specialist Matt Ebden will line up for the Culture Amp Australian Davis Cup team when they take on Belgium in Sydney next month.
The crucial second round Qualifier will be held at Ken Rosewall Arena from 13-14 September, Australia’s first home Davis Cup tie in more than three years.
Australia, currently ranked No.2 in the world, is chasing a fourth consecutive appearance at the Davis Cup Final 8, taking place in Bologna, Italy in November.
De Minaur, who will notch his 13th Davis Cup nomination for Australia, won his 10th career singles title in Washington last month before reaching the quarterfinals of the ATP 1000 in Toronto.
Twenty-six-year-old Popyrin hit a career high ranking of world No.19 last week, becoming the seventh Australian man behind Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Philippoussis, Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic and De Minaur to achieve this feat.
Thompson will line up for his 13th Davis Cup nomination while Ebden will mark his 15th nomination for Australia.
“Alex de Minaur obviously loves playing in Australia, and even more so playing on Ken Rosewall Arena. He feels like that’s his home court out there,” Culture Amp Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt said.
“He’s played some big matches on this court in the past, in the Sydney International, the Davis Cup and the United Cup as well. He’s going to be really looking forward to getting back out there.
“Alex is a top 10 player and has had a fantastic season, putting himself in contention in all the big tournaments.
“Alexei Popyrin has come off a really good run again at the Canadian Open in Toronto, especially going in there as defending champion. Hopefully he’ll get some confidence during the US swing, he’s going to be a big player for us in the Davis Cup tie.
“Jordan Thompson has had a few injuries this year, but he’s been very solid every time he’s come on court. He had a good run at Wimbledon, in singles and doubles and obviously him playing with Matty Ebden in the doubles, they’ve played some big Davis Cup matches for us in the past. It’s good to have the four guys available for us.”
Belgium’s team will feature [54] Zizou Bergs, Raphael Collignon, Alexander Blockx, Sander Gille and Joran Vliegan, led by captain Steve Darcis.
Australia leads Belgium 4-3 in the head-to-head series, including a 3-0 win in Hamburg during the group stage in 2022.
“We’ve played some big Davis Cup ties against Belgium. They play really well, they play with a lot of pride out there, every time they’re playing for their country, so we’re certainly not taking anything for granted,” Hewitt added.
“We’ve had a pretty good run the last three or four years in the Davis Cup. We feel like we’ve got some unfinished business, and this is another stepping stone and another chance for us to put our self in contention.
“We’ll be doing absolutely everything we can to get the result that we feel like we deserve and it’s really nice to be playing on home soil.”
The official draw for the tie will take place on Friday 12 September.
Davis Cup Qualifier Second Round – Australia vs Belgium
Australia – Hard, Outdoors (Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney)
- Saturday 13 September 1.00pm AEST – Two singles matches
- Sunday 14 September 1.00pm AEST – Doubles match followed by reverse singles matches
Team nominations
Alex de Minaur
Alexei Popyrin
Jordan Thompson
Matt Ebden
Captain: Lleyton Hewitt
Zizou Bergs
Raphael Collignon
Alexander Blockx
Sander Gille
Joran Vliegan
Captain: Steve Darcis
Tickets on sale
- Tickets to the Davis Cup Qualifier Second Round are on sale via Ticketmaster
Fast facts
- The Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round will take place between 12-14 September
- Fourteen nations will compete in seven home-or-away ties
- Australia and Belgium join the Netherlands, Argentina, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Japan, USA, Czechia, Denmark, Spain, Croatia and France
- In February, Australia defeated Sweden 3-1 in the Qualifiers First Round to reach this stage
- Seven countries will join 2024 champions Italy at the Davis Cup Final 8 to be held in Bologna, Italy from 18-23 November
- Ties will be played as best-of-five matches, with two singles matches on day one, followed by the doubles match and the two reverse singles matches on day two. All matches are played as best-of-three tie break sets
- This will be the 20th Davis Cup tie held in Sydney, Australia
- The last time Davis Cup tennis was held at Ken Rosewall Arena was in March 2022 when Australia defeated Hungary 3-2
- Australia is currently second in the Davis Cup rankings
- Australia have finished Davis Cup runners-up twice in the last three years, in 2022 and 2023
- Australia have won the Davis Cup title 28 times
- Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Philippoussis, Todd Woodbridge, Wayne Arthurs and captain John Fitzgerald last led Australia to victory in 2003 with a 3-1 win over Spain at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne
Davis Cup began in 1900 as a competition between USA and Great Britain. It is now the world’s largest annual international team competition in sport with a record 159 nations entered in 2025.
