TORONTO, June 13, 2018

Tennis Canada announced on Tuesday that Ricoh Coliseum will host the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group play-off between Canada and the Netherlands, from September 14 to 16, 2018. The tie will take place on an interior hard court in the venue, which accommodates up to approximately 6,500 spectators.

Davis Cup is returning to Toronto for the first time since 2010 and for the very first time in the capital of Ontario. In September 2010, Canada defeated the Dominican Republic at the Aviva Centre in an Americas Group I Zonal tie. This time, Canada will be looking to maintain their spot among the world’s elite, the 16 best nations which make up the World Group. The Canadian Davis Cup team has been in this group since 2012 and has since reached the semi-finals (2013) and the quarter-finals (2015). The nation is playing this tie after a loss to Croatia by a score of 3-1 in the World Group first round last February in Osijek, Croatia.

Canada and the Netherlands will face each other for the fourth time in Davis Cup history. Canada won two of the three previous meetings, the last of which dates back to 2004 in the World Group first round. Canada will be the seeded nation thanks to their ranking of no. 14 whereas the Netherlands are ranked no. 18 in the Davis Cup rankings. The winner of the tie will earn a spot in the World Group for 2019 while the losing nation will be relegated to their respective Zonal Group I.

The Netherlands fell by a score of 3-1 against the defending champions, France. The Dutch team had their best result in 2001 when they reached the semi-finals.

A few days prior to the start of the tie, Canadian captain Frank Dancevic will announce the nomination of the four players who will represent their country. In the past few years, several athletes have worn the Canadian colours, notably Frank Dancevic, Daniel Nestor, Filip Peliwo, Peter Polansky, Vasek Pospisil, Milos Raonic, Brayden Schnur, Adil Shamasdin and Denis Shapovalov.

Created in 1900, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual team competition in sport, with 133 countries participating in 2018. Only the Top 16 nations qualify for the World Group each year and thus the right to compete for the Davis Cup title.

Tickets for the tie will go on sale starting August 4 on the Ticketmaster website. Prices begin at $115 for the three days of competition.

QUOTES
“We are delighted with the return of Davis Cup to Toronto after several years of absence. This competition offers high quality tennis as well as an exceptional atmosphere, which is different from any other tournaments. Year after year, the fans in Toronto have shown their passion for tennis by coming to the Rogers Cup, and we are pleased to be able to offer them this tie right in the heart of the downtown area. We would like to thank the Ricoh Coliseum for their participation and we know that together we can organize a great weekend of tennis.”

• Gavin Ziv, VP, Professional Events & Director of the Davis Cup

“The team is looking forward to playing in Toronto for the first time in a while and we know that the city will live up to its reputation in terms of excellent facilities, fan support and hospitality. Many players come from in and around the Toronto area and this will be a unique opportunity to play a Davis Cup tie at home in front of their families and friends. I have a lot of confidence in our team. We are getting more and more depth and we know that we can accomplish great things together. We will do our best to win this tie in order to maintain our place in the World Group.”

• Frank Dancevic, Canadian Davis Cup Captain

“For the first time since 2010, Torontonians will be able to cheer on our players on home soil in hopes of moving forward to the World Group in 2019. Ricoh Coliseum is thrilled to welcome tennis fans from across the country to watch the anticipated match between Canada and Netherlands and we look forward to hosting many more in the future with Tennis Canada.”

• Wayne Zronik, SVP, Music & Live Entertainment at MLSE