The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Thursday that China will host Davis Cup finals group stage matches for the first time in September.
One of the four groups will take place at Zhuhai’s Hengqin International Tennis Center; the remaining three will take place in Manchester, Valencia, and Bologna between September 10 and September 15, according to the ITF.
Group stage matches will take place in Bologna and Valencia for the third year in a row, while Manchester will host them for the second consecutive year.
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.
