Italian public service broadcaster Rai has secured rights in the country to show national team matches from the latter stages of the men’s Davis Cup national tennis team tournament.
The new agreement struck with the Italian Tennis Federation (FITP) will see Rai simultaneously air Italy’s matches in the semi-final and final of this year’s competition alongside tennis and padel broadcast platform SuperTennis, should the team beat South Korea in the quarter-final next month.
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Rai’s agreement covers television, digital, and mobile platforms in Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican.
SuperTennis, the domestic rights holder for the event, has exclusive rights to Italy’s match against South Korea on November 25, and Rai will only join the broadcast coverage if Italy, the defending champions, advance to the final four.
Angelo Binaghi, president of the FITP, said: “Italian tennis is everyone's heritage, and our commitment is to ensure that the achievements of our athletes can reach the largest possible number of people.
“The collaboration with Rai, in this sense, takes on a particularly significant value: the public service plays a fundamental role in guaranteeing the widest accessibility to events that unite the country, and the Davis Cup by Generali is undoubtedly one of these.
“We are proud to strengthen this synergy, bringing together Rai's broadcasting capability and the role of SuperTennis, the home of Italian tennis, to accompany the Azzurri in a challenge that we hope will once again bring great satisfaction.”
Should Italy reach the semi-finals, they will face the winner of the match between the Czech Republic and Canada on November 27.
The Final Eight tournament, held in Italy’s Bologna from November 24 to 29, is the climax to the 2026 Davis Cup season, which began in February.
The first round of qualifiers saw 26 teams play for 13 spots in the second round of qualifiers.
The second round of qualifiers, played from September 18 to 20, featured 14 nations playing across up to 35 matches to decide the seven teams that will join hosts and defending champions Italy at the 2026 Final Eight in November.
The deal adds to the Davis Cup’s visibility, having secured Veto, the subscription-free Indian OTT platform, as a broadcast partner in August.
Meanwhile, iconic British men's clothing brand Fred Perry has signed up as a global sponsor of the Davis Cup.
Fred Perry – founded by and named after the UK tennis champion of that name – becomes the Davis Cup's global apparel partner, through a multi-year partnership with the event's organizers that was unveiled yesterday.
The tie-up entails Fred Perry becoming the outfitter for officials and ball kids at the Final 8 later this year, and then across all Qualifiers ties from 2027 (which will mark Fred Perry's 75th anniversary) onwards.
Ross Hutchins, chief executive at the World Tennis body, commented: "We could not think of a better fit – Fred Perry remains one of the most important players in the history of our prestigious competition, and partnering with the brand that he founded is a wonderful way to celebrate his Davis Cup legacy."
Perry was the Davis Cup champion in four consecutive years – 1933 to 1936 (inclusive).
The uniforms to be provided will showcase his brand's latest sportswear collection.
Richard Gilmore, Fred Perry's managing director, added: "The Davis Cup is defined by heritage, national pride, and unmistakable tennis style – values that align naturally with our iconic position in the sport."
In terms of the tournament's other commercial activity, international insurance company Generali Group was recently unveiled as the new presenting partner for the competition.
Under a multi-year global partnership, the competition will be known as the Davis Cup by Generali, and the company will gain rights to worldwide broadcast integration, in-bowl visibility, and back wall court branding at all Davis Cup events.
The agreement with Generali ends the World Tennis governing body’s long search for a new presenting partner, with the position left vacant since the previous title sponsorship deal with Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten ended in 2022.
World Tennis’ commercial portfolio for the Davis Cup also includes Rolex, Visa, MG, Fage, Corpay and Betsson. The federation expects to announce further new deals “in the coming weeks.”
