The 2025 Davis Cup Finals are finished, as Team Italy celebrate their third title in a row.
Even without their top two players, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, Italy managed to win the Davis Cup.
Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli led Italy to wins over Austria, Belgium, and Spain, picking up the nation’s fourth-ever Davis Cup title.
However, while Berrettini and Cobolli impressed in Bologna, it was the absence of the big names that made headlines.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were both absent, and Alexander Zverev was the only top-10 player present.
Weighing in with his thoughts, former Italian star Fabio Fognini gave his verdict on the future of the Davis Cup.
Fabio Fognini doesn’t think Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will ever prioritise the Davis Cup
During an interview with Corriere della Sera, Fognini said this about the Davis Cup.
“What do I think of the new Davis Cup? They’ve transformed it, they say for the worse. I think so too,” he said.
“The top players are asking for it to be played once every two years. I don’t know what to think.”
Several players, including Alcaraz and Sinner, were interested in the idea of a two-year Davis Cup.
The change would relieve some of the pressure on an intense tennis calendar, potentially encouraging more players to sign up for the ‘World Cup of tennis’.
Fognini proceeded to talk about Sinner and Alcaraz’s decision to skip the Davis Cup.
“Of course, the withdrawals of Sinner and Alcaraz have made it lose its luster,” he said.
“There are no names; only [Alexander] Zverev was in the top 10. It’s not good for Davis Cup.
“It needs to be revisited. Of course, Jannik and Carlos’ priority will never be the Davis Cup.”
When asked throughout the tournament, 32% of The Tennis Gazette readers said they weren’t planning on watching the Davis Cup, following the withdrawals of the world number one and two.
Will you still be watching the Davis Cup without Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner this year?
The lack of star power was evident, although that didn’t stop the fans in Italy from enjoying themselves…
For the third year in a row, the country won the Davis Cup.
Italy extend their impressive Davis Cup winning streak
After winning the Davis Cup in 2023 and 2024 with Sinner, Italy achieved the ‘three-peat’ without their number one.
In doing so, they became the seventh most successful nation in the history of the competition.
Most Davis Cup titles
| Rank | Country | Titles | Latest title |
| 1 | USA | 32 | 2007 |
| 2 | Australia | 28 | 2003 |
| T-3 | Great Britain | 10 | 2015 |
| T-3 | France | 10 | 2017 |
| 5 | Sweden | 7 | 1998 |
| 6 | Spain | 6 | 2019 |
| 7 | Italy | 4 | 2025 |
| T-8 | Czechia | 3 | 2013 |
| T-8 | Germany | 3 | 1993 |
| T-8 | Russia | 3 | 2021 |
They are also the first team since the USA to win three or more consecutive titles (1968-1972), a mightily impressive feat.
Is this current Italy team the greatest-ever Davis Cup team?
It’s tough to imagine anyone stopping them in 2026, especially if Sinner returns to the line-up.
How did Fabio Fognini perform at the Davis Cup?
The charismatic Italian never won the Davis Cup during his career, but played 55 times for his country.
Finishing with a winning record (35-20), Fognini’s efforts at the event won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
He also came close to winning the title on two occasions, as Italy qualified for the semifinals in 2014 and 2022.
Fognini didn’t play in the 2022 Davis Cup Finals, but was a major factor in Italy’s run to the last four 11 years ago.
Fabio Fognini at the 2014 Davis Cup
- 1R (Argentina) – Fabio Fognini defeated Juan Monaco
- 1R (Argentina) – Fabio Fognini/Simone Bolelli defeated Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos
- 1R (Argentina) – Fabio Fognini defeated Carlos Berlocq
- QF (Great Britain) – Fabio Fognini defeated James Ward
- QF (Great Britain) Fabio Fognini/Simone Bolelli lost to Colin Fleming/Andy Murray
- QF (Great Britain) Fabio Fognini defeated Andy Murray
- SF (Switzerland) Fabio Fognini lost to Stan Wawrinka
- SF (Switzerland) Fabio Fognini/Simone Bolelli defeated Marco Chiudinelli/Stan Wawrinka
- SF (Switzerland) Fabio Fognini lost to Roger Federer
In the quarterfinals, Fognini picked up one of the biggest wins of his career, defeating Andy Murray to level the tie at 2-2, before Andrea Seppi beat James Ward to send Italy through.
Perhaps it was the spirit of Fognini that inspired Cobolli and Berrettini to victory in 2025.
Whether they can repeat the feat in 2026 remains to be seen, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
The 2026 Davis Cup Finals will begin in November next year.
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