Toronto to host Canada-Netherlands Davis Cup tennis matches

The Ricoh Coliseum will be rocking for a different sport than it’s used to this September, as the Davis Cup returns to Toronto for the first time since 2010.

Canada’s best men’s tennis players will play the Netherlands in a three-day World Group play-off, beginning September 14. A best-of-five series consisting of four singles matches and one doubles contest will decide the winner on a hard court surface, in front of up to approximately 6,500 fans.

“We are delighted with the return of Davis Cup to Toronto after several years of absence,” said Gavin Ziv, VP of professional events and director of the Davis Cup. “This competition offers high-quality tennis as well as an exceptional atmosphere, which is different from any other tournaments.”

The sporting atmosphere in the Davis Cup competition is quite different from the quiet/polite nature of a typical ATP Tour stop like the Rogers Cup that Torontonians are used to.

With national pride on the line, Davis Cup crowds are expected to be raucous.

“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,” said Canadian Davis Cup captain Frank Dancevic. “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.”

We won’t know which athletes will play until a few days before the start of the competition, though Milos Raonic (if healthy) and Denis Shapovalov are strong possibilities.

Canada should be the favourite, with three singles players (Raonic, Shapovalov, and Vasek Pospisil) ranked in the top-100 on the ATP Tour. The Netherlands has just one player, 44th-ranked Robin Haase, in the top-100.

The Davis Cup is the largest annual team competition in tennis, with 113 countries participating. Only 16 teams qualify for the World Group, a place Canada has been since 2012. They’ll need a win to maintain their spot.

Tickets for the event start at $115 for the full three-day package and go on sale August 4 via Ticketmaster.

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