Article
03 Aug 2026
History served: Cairo to stage landmark Junior Finals
03 Aug 2026
The Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Junior Finals and Davis Cup Junior Finals will break new ground this year by taking place in Cairo, Egypt.
It will be the first time the leading national team competition for players aged 16 and under, which is scheduled to take place on 2-8 November at the Smash Sporting Club, is held in Africa. Over the past decade, Hungary, the United States, Turkey, Spain and Chile have staged the iconic event, with Chile hosting most recently on the clay of Santiago’s Estadio Nacional.
Clay is the surface of choice again this year, as the Smash Sporting Club welcomes some of the world’s best junior players. The 20-acre venue is located to the west of the capital and has been home to the World Tennis Tour Juniors J500 Cairo tournament since 2023.
"Taking the Billie Jean King Cup Junior and Davis Cup Junior Finals to Cairo for the first time is part of that, and these events present a fantastic engagement opportunity for us," World Tennis President David Haggerty said.
"This is a historic moment, not only for Egyptian tennis, but also for tennis in Africa and the Middle East. We are confident that Cairo will be a superb host city for this event, giving players the opportunity to create lifelong memories both on and off the court."
The USA are the two-time defending champions in both the boys’ and girls’ competitions.
Previous winning teams at the Finals have featured some of the game’s biggest names including Rafael Nadal (Spain, 2002), Ashleigh Barty (Australia, 2011), Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 2015), Iga Swiatek (Poland, 2016), Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 2018), Coco Gauff (USA, 2018), Joao Fonseca (Brazil, 2022) and Iva Jovic (USA, 2023).
Two players who competed in the 2025 Finals have gone on to major success this year. Ksenia Efremova, who was a runner-up for France, won the Australian Open girls’ singles title, while the USA’s Davis Cup Junior champion Jordan Lee lifted the Wimbledon boys’ singles title.
Which nations are competing this year?
National teams compete in regional qualifying events in both competitions throughout the season, before the top 16 boys teams and top 16 girls teams contest the Finals.
As host nation, Egypt’s boys and girls qualify for the Finals automatically. Seven other teams in each event have already confirmed their places in Cairo: Australia, Canada, Japan and USA will have teams in both events, while Kazakhstan, Morocco and India have qualified for the Davis Cup Junior Finals, and Chinese Taipei, Korea, Rep. and Tunisia have qualified for the Billie Jean King Cup Junior Finals.
The remaining teams will be confirmed in the coming days, with European regional qualifying taking place on 3-5 August and South American regional qualifying taking place on 3-8 August.
The Finals are contested as four round-robin groups of four teams over the first three days of play, followed by a rest day, then the knockout stages over the final three days.
"This is a great honour for our country and a historic milestone for our continent, as it marks the first time that Africa will host these prestigious world junior team championships," Ismail El Shafei, the President of the Egyptian Tennis Federation, said.
"The Egyptian Tennis Federation has enjoyed a longstanding and successful partnership with World Tennis in developing and promoting tennis through the organisation of numerous international events. Hosting these Finals represents another important chapter in that collaboration and reflects the continued growth of tennis in Egypt and across Africa."
The World Tennis 14&U Junior Team Finals are being contested in Prostejov, Czechia this week, with the top 16 boys' and girls' teams competing to be crowned world champions. Find out more and watch live streaming via the World Tennis website.