A Big Star to Miss the Davis Cup

Italy’s Davis Cup captain, Filippo Volandri, has confirmed that the country’s top player and World No. 2, Jannik Sinner, will not take part in the team’s title defense on home soil.

Sinner had previously said he was uncertain about participating in the finals of the international tournament, scheduled to be held in Bologna between November 18 and 23.

Volandri stated: “Jannik Sinner has not made himself available for 2025,” adding, “The Davis Cup has always been and will always be his home, and I am confident he will return to the team soon.”

Sinner led Italy to its first Davis Cup title since 1976 two years ago, and they retained the trophy in 2024 thanks to his brilliance in the final. But doubts surrounded the four-time Grand Slam champion’s involvement after he admitted last week that he was unsure about representing his country this time.

Alcaraz and Zverev Present

The finals, however, will feature two other stars who will boost the profile of the competition, as Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Germany’s Alexander Zverev — ranked first and third in the world — have been selected to represent their nations.

Spain will face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, while Germany takes on Argentina on November 20.

Both teams are in the same half of the draw, with matches to be played indoors on hard courts under the best-of-three format (two singles matches followed by one doubles match), setting up the possibility of an Alcaraz vs. Zverev semifinal showdown.

Alcaraz captured both the Roland Garros and US Open titles this season and reclaimed the World No. 1 ranking in early September from Sinner, who had earlier won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

In last year’s edition in Málaga, Spain fell 1-2 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, which also marked Rafael Nadal’s official farewell from professional tennis.

Alcaraz will contest this year’s finals alongside Jaume Munar (World No. 42), Pedro Martínez (No. 88), and Marcel Granollers (unranked in singles, World No. 8 in doubles), with a fifth player yet to be confirmed.

As for Germany, their squad will feature Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff (No. 91), Yannick Hanfmann (No. 126), along with the doubles specialists Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz.

Zverev returns to the national team for the first time since 2023, having missed the 2024 edition in which Germany lost to the Netherlands in the semifinals.

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