The
Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's
tennis. It is run by the
International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a
knock-out format. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis", and the winners are referred to as the World Champion team. The competition began in
1900 as a challenge between
Great Britain and the
United States. By
2016, 130 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States (winning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and
Australia (winning 28 times, including four occasions with
New Zealand as
Australasia, and finishing as runners-up 19 times). The present champions are
Great Britain who beat
Belgium to win the title for the 10th time in 2015. It was Great Britain's first title in 79 years, and first in the open era. The win moved Great Britain to third on the all time winners list.