BEIJING: China will host Davis Cup finals group stage matches for the first time in September, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Thursday.

The Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai will stage one of the four groups, with the other three will be held in Manchester, Valencia and Bologna from Sept 10-15, the ITF said.

Bologna and Valencia will host group stage matches for the third straight year, while Manches­ter will hold them for the second time in a row.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the final eight which will be held from Nov 19-24 in Malaga, which also staged the round last year.

Defending champions Italy and 2023 runners-up Australia directly qualified for the 16-team group stage, while Britain and Spain were given wildcard entries.

The other 12 teams in the final group stage from qualifiers are Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia and the U.S.

The draw to determine group placements will take place on Tuesday, the ITF added.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2024