Prestigious Venue To Host New Zealand's Davis Cup Tie Against Korea Republic In September

New Zealand’s Davis Cup World Group 1 tie vs Korea, Republic on September 17th & 18th will be held at the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The grass court venue has a celebrated history of hosting international tennis and holds an annual ATP event each July, the Hall of Fame Open.

With New Zealand’s borders closed to international visitors due to COVID-19, a neutral host was required, and the Hall of Fame have offered their support. “The chance to play our tie at such a prestigious venue as the International Tennis Hall of Fame is very special for tennis in New Zealand. The team at the Hall of Fame have been amazing in supporting us and we can’t wait for September,” said Tennis NZ High Performance Director Christophe Lambert.

The Hall of Fame is a unique venue and the Hall of Fame Open is the only ATP level event played on grass courts in the US. “It’s never ideal to be unable to play in your own country, but we asked our players to look at it as an opportunity—which surface would you choose to play on? They said grass, and here we are about to play at one of the best grass court venues in the world,” said Lambert.

For the Hall of Fame, the opportunity to host Davis Cup tennis poses a unique opportunity to bring world-class tennis of an international flavor back to Newport, and aligns well with the organization’s mission to preserve and celebrate tennis history, and inspire the sport’s growth.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the New Zealand and Korean teams to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Davis Cup is one of the most storied and historic events in the tennis world, and it’s our pleasure to host the event at the place where tennis history is celebrated year-round,” said Todd Martin, International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO and a past competitor for the US Davis Cup team.

Of note, the ITHF’s campus has hosted Davis Cup twice before. Exactly 100 years ago, in 1921 the Australasian Davis Cup team, then representing Australia and New Zealand played a tie against Japan at the venue, then known as Newport Casino. Additionally, the ITHF hosted the Spain v. USA Quarterfinal Round in 1991.

New Zealand player selections will be made in late July. With the US Open ending the week prior to the Davis Cup and other professional and collegiate events taking place at the same time, it is expected most of the New Zealand team will already be in the US ahead of the event.

Davis Cup by Rakuten is the largest annual international team competition in world sport. One of the cornerstones of the tennis calendar, Davis Cup provides players with the chance to represent their country in an otherwise individual sport.

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