Why is it called Davis Cup: the origin of the tournament

The beginning of this contest takes us back two centuries and, over time, it was expanded and modified. Among several things, his name.

The Davis cup It is that tennis tournament that we Argentines like so much and makes us vibrate with each match in which the honor of the light blue and white is at stake. But, Have you ever wondered why it’s called that? If it’s a person, Who could this “Davis” be? Well, to unravel them we clearly need to go back several years, two centuries ago.

The origin of the Davis Cup

The origin of the Davis Cup dates back to the rivalry between British and American tennis players in the late 19th century. In 1899, the American Dwight F. Davis (photo) encouraged to develop a cup disputed annually by national teams. Davis, US Open doubles champion in 1898 and 1901, donated money to make a silver trophy designed in the shape of a salad bowl. In it, the names of the participants of each edition would be inscribed.

The first name of the tournament was “International Lawn Tennis Challenge” and had its first edition in 1900, since the USTA (United States Tennis Federation) decided to accept Davis’s proposal, and the British team seconded him. It was played at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, where The United States beat Great Britain 3-0. In 1903, the British won the championship for the first time and took the cup to the United Kingdom. Thus, other countries such as Belgium and France began to be interested and more and more teams joined, until it became what it is today.

Why is it called Davis Cup?

In 1945, After the death of its creator Dwight Davis at the age of 66, the championship was renamed the Davis Cup in honor of the American tennis player.

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