The eight best nations in the world are battling it out for the Davis Cup title this week, but sometimes the most interesting stories come from the lower-ranked teams in the competition…
There are currently 160 teams in the Davis Cup rankings, ranging from Italy, ranked first, to the Seychelles, ranked 160th.
Sitting in 126th is Haiti, a team that has never been to the Davis Cup Finals or the World Group.
Their greatest-ever player, Ronald Agenor, won 39 matches for Haiti during his 18-year Davis Cup career.
During an exclusive interview with The Tennis Gazette earlier this year, Agenor shared some of his fondest memories from the competition, including the time he won a match aged 43.
Ronald Agenor came out of retirement to save Haiti at the Davis Cup
1989 French Open quarterfinalist and former world number 22 Agenor retired from tennis in 2002, as the greatest player in Haitian tennis history.
However, as his country continued to struggle in the ‘World Cup of Tennis’, Agenor made a surprise return to the Davis Cup in 2008, as Haiti took on the US Virgin Islands.
“I just wanted to help the team; they weren’t doing well, I went there as a captain and just played the doubles,” he said.
Haiti vs US Virgin Islands – 2008 Davis Cup
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 1 | Kristepher Elien (US Virgin Islands) | Jean Marc Bazanne (Haiti) | Haiti (0-1) US Virgin Islands |
| 2 | Olivier Sajous (Haiti) | Kevin Motta (US Virgin Islands) | Haiti (1-1) US Virgin Islands |
| 3 | Ronald Agenor/Olivier Sajous (Haiti) | Kristepher Elien/Henry Christian Nelthropp (US Virgin Islands) | Haiti (2-1) US Virgin Islands |
“We qualified, but that was nothing major because we still didn’t have a team.”
Agenor helped Haiti clinch the win in the deciding doubles at 43 years old, but 17 years on, he isn’t optimistic about the nation’s future in the competition.
“Haiti doesn’t have any tennis infrastructure or sports in general. The country is in a difficult phase right now, but the soccer teams are doing pretty well, but tennis-wise it’s dead,” he said.
“There are a handful of people trying to put some tennis courts in, trying to get young players to play, but it’s a difficult time, very difficult to produce or develop players.
“Also, you need a lot of money to travel; you can’t just stay here. You have to travel overseas, which requires a significant amount of money to achieve something on the world stage.
“But maybe some young players will be able to do that in the upcoming years.”
Despite the struggles, Agenor still looks back fondly upon his time representing Haiti at the Davis Cup.
“I still have great memories, I think I played 20 years for Haiti at the Davis Cup. It was always special, because you’re playing at home, with friends and family around, they were incredible moments,” he said.
“However, playing for Haiti, ranked 22 in the world, I didn’t have any other player at my level to go to the World Group, so I was kind of stuck in the Caribbean and the American Zone, because the second player behind me would not perform most of the time.
“Any time we played a strong team, I would win my two singles, and we would fail in doubles or the other singles.”
Agenor knows that he could have played better opposition had he represented another nation, but wouldn’t change a thing.
“If I played for France, I would have played in the World Group with all the best players in the world, so that’s the balance, but it is what it is,” he said.
“I still enjoyed all these moments.
“If I played the World Group, I would have never experienced this type of setup and experience; it’s a big difference.”
The Davis Cup continues to entertain fans around the world, at all levels…
Who will win the 2025 Davis Cup?
Just three teams remain in this year’s Davis Cup Finals, as we approach the latter stages of the competition.
2025 Davis Cup Finals – Results so far
- QF – Italy bt. Austria (2-0)
- QF – Belgium bt. France (2-0)
- QF – Spain bt. Czechia (2-1)
- QF – Germany bt. Argentina (2-1)
- SF – Italy bt. Belgium (2-0)
- SF – Spain vs Germany (Saturday, November 22)
Searching for their third title in a row, Italy will take on either Spain or Germany in this year’s final.
Is this current Italy team the greatest-ever Davis Cup team?
Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli have stepped up in the absence of Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, taking down Austria and Belgium en route to the final in Bologna.
Only time will tell who will lift the trophy, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action when Italy play Spain or Germany on Sunday, November 23.
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