Madrid, Oct 7 (EFE).- The Davis Cup teams of Mexico and Pakistan, which would have to play in the World Group II qualifiers in 2025, have been re-elected by draw to play in World Group I.
The changes in the Davis format announced last week required two additional teams to complete the 13 World Group I qualifiers. A draw determined this Monday that Mexicans and Pakistanis would benefit.
According to said draw, carried out by the International Federation, in the qualifiers on January 31 and February 1 or February 1 and 2 (to be chosen by the local team), Mexico will play away against Turkey, while Pakistan will also play away from home against Kazakhstan.
Mexico had been relegated to Group II after losing to Denmark last January and was scheduled to face Georgia. Pakistan lost to India and had to play against Barbados. Luck returned them this Monday to the category they lost on the field.
The other qualifiers in Group I will be Portugal-Monaco, Bosnia Herzegovina-Uzbekistan, Colombia-Barbados, Peru-Lebanon, Ukraine-Tunisia, Ecuador-Uruguay, Romania-Bulgaria, India-Togo, Greece-Egypt, Lithuania-Luxembourg and Poland- Georgia.
The winners of these 13 qualifiers will face the 13 losers of the Davis Cup qualifiers in September, in search of a place in this elite group in 2026.
Four teams also had to be selected in the ITA draw for the World Group II play-offs, which were Benin, Indonesia, Jamaica and Moldova.
In this category the qualifiers, on the same dates as those of Group I, will be Latvia-Benin, New Zealand-Jamaica, Ireland-Saudi Arabia, New Zealand-Jamaica, Ireland-Saudi Arabia, Morocco-Zimbabwe, South Africa-Nigeria, El Salvador-Moldova, Hong Kong-Namibia, Estonia-Venezuela, Bolivia-Dominican Republic, Slovenia-Indonesia, China-Montenegro, Paraguay-Syria and Thailand-Cyprus.
The Davis Cup, a competition that was born in 1900 as a confrontation between tennis players from the United States and Great Britain, is currently the largest team tournament in the world, with 157 participating nations in 2024.
It has undergone numerous format changes over the years. The ITF announced last Friday a new system for 2025 that eliminates the final group phase and involves changes in the lower categories to balance the number of participants in each phase. EFE
