It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Espoo for this 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers tie between Finland and Belgium, with the prize of a place in the 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals on offer to the winner.

Davis Cup, the men’s world cup of tennis, was founded in 1900 and has grown to become the largest annual international team competition in sport. A record 148 nations have entered Davis Cup this year and will compete across multiple levels of the competition from regional events to the pinnacle of the Davis Cup Finals.

The Finals, hosted together with our partner Kosmos Tennis, are a true celebration of men’s team tennis. Congratulations to the Russian Tennis Federation for their dominant performance that led to them being crowned 2021 Davis Cup champions.

This weekend’s Qualifiers are the first step on the road to deciding the 2022 world champions. The 12 winners of this weekend’s ties will join the Russian Tennis Federation, 2021 runners-up Croatia, and wild cards Serbia and Great Britain, in the Davis Cup Finals.

I would like to give special thanks to the players, the captains and the National Associations who give so much to making the Davis Cup such a special competition. The revenue that the ITF generates from Davis Cup is reinvested into the development of tennis at national level. By competing in Davis Cup, the players contribute to delivering tennis for future generations.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Rakuten, the presenting partner of the Davis Cup. Finally, I would like to thank our partner Kosmos Tennis and all the people who have worked on the organisation of this tie. I wish all of you an enjoyable and successful weekend.

David Haggerty, ITF President