Next weekend, the 2nd qualifying round of the Tennis Davis Cup 2026 is scheduled. Among the games for a place in the final tournament in Bologna, the Germany – Croatia Davis Cup will also take place.
The international tennis match between Germany and Croatia will be played on September 19 and 20 in Halle (Westphalia) in the heristo-arena.
Here you can find all the information about the German Davis Cup second round match: The schedule, the broadcast on TV and live stream as well as the players and the starting position.
Davis Cup Germany – Croatia: Date, Broadcast
When is the Tennis Davis Cup Germany – Croatia?
In the 2nd qualifying round of the Davis Cup 2026 – officially called the “Qualifiers 2nd Round” – 14 nations will fight for seven places in the final tournament in Bologna. In addition to Germany – Croatia, Chile – Spain, Great Britain – Ecuador and Austria – Belgium are also on the programme.
The Davis Cup 2026 second-round duel between Germany and Croatia will be played on September 19 and 20. The game will be played in Halle (Westphalia) in the heristo-arena.
The start times have already been set: It starts on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
This means that the Davis Cup returns to Halle after 20 years – the last time a first-round match of the World Group against France took place there was in 2006, which Germany lost 3-2. The heristo-arena with around 11,500 seats is also the venue for the ATP tournament TERRA WORTMANN OPEN and is considered one of the most important tennis locations in Germany.
Germany is seeded number 2 in this round, Croatia number 13. The winner of this game will meet other top nations at the final tournament in Bologna in November; whoever loses will have to go to the World Group I play-offs in 2027.
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Germany – Croatia Davis Cup broadcast live on TV & Stream
Who will show the Germany – Croatia Davis Cup live on September 19 and 20?
The Germany – Croatia Davis Cup will be streamed live on both days in a free stream on the tennis portal tennis.de.
As a further broadcast option, the match is also available via the Tennis Channel. According to the current state of affairs, no other channels will be broadcast live on free TV or pay TV.
Germany – Croatia Davis Cup Schedule
The Davis Cup 2026 in Halle will be played on Saturday (September 19) and Sunday (September 20) in the heristo-arena on hard court hall. In total, there are up to five matches on the Davis Cup schedule on these two days: four singles and one doubles.
On Saturday, September 19, the first two singles will take place from 2:00 p.m. On Sunday, September 20, it continues at 12:00 p.m. – usually with the doubles, followed by the two reverse singles. At the latest then the winner of this Davis Cup duel will be determined.
All games are played over two winning sets, and one point is awarded for winning a game. The nation that scores three points first wins the international match and moves on to the final tournament in Bologna.
The squads for Germany and Croatia
Which players are in the Davis Cup Germany – Croatia?
Germany captain Michael Kohlmann has nominated the following players: Alexander Zverev, Yannick Hanfmann, Daniel Altmaier and the two doubles specialists Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz.
For Zverev, currently the world number 2 and French Open and now US Open winner in 2026, it is surprising to return to the national team: It is his first appearance in the Davis Cup in front of a home crowd since the duel with Switzerland in Trier at the beginning of 2023.
Kohlmann only awarded the fifth place in the squad to Daniel Altmaier after the US Open – veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, who also played a strong year, was left out.
The Croatia squad includes two singles players in Marin Cilic and the young Dino Prizmic as well as a world-class doubles player in Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic.
The new Croatian team boss is former doubles specialist Ivan Dodig, who took over from Velimir Zovko in the summer of 2025.
Squad Germany:
- Alexander Zverev
- Yannick Hanfmann
- Daniel Altmaier
- Kevin Krawietz
- Tim Pütz
- Captain: Michael Kohlmann
Squad Croatia:
- Marin Cilic
- Dino Prizmic
- Mate Pavic
- Nikola Mektic
- Captain: Ivan Dodig
Davis Cup starting position: Who is the favorite?
What is the starting position before the Germany – Croatia Davis Cup in Halle?
With Alexander Zverev, currently number 2 in the ATP world rankings, Germany has the clearly strongest singles player of the match in its ranks. Marin Cilic, two-time Davis Cup champion with Croatia (2005, 2018), is still dangerous at the age of 37, but is only ranked 80th in the world rankings. Dino Prizmic, the Croatian young talent at 21, is in 70th place – his career best so far.
Germany can also rely on an established world-class doubles team in Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz, who won the ATP Finals in 2024 and won titles in Hamburg and Monte Carlo in 2026, among other places. In the doubles, Croatia relies on Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who are also top-class, with whom they have already achieved several successes at Grand Slams and Masters tournaments – a real challenge for the German pairing.
In a direct comparison between the two nations, Germany leads 3-1 from four meetings so far; however, the last duel was 15 years ago. Croatia won the Davis Cup title in 2005 and 2018 and was also in the finals in 2016 and 2021 – an overall very successful team with a lot of tournament experience.
With the home advantage in the heristo-arena and the return of Zverev, Germany is considered the favorite for this duel, but in view of the quality on the Croatian side – especially in doubles – it should not be a mere formality.
