Davis Cup Qualifiers 2026: India name five-man squad for home tie against Netherlands

India will play 2024 runners-up Netherlands in the qualifiers, at Bengaluru.

As India gears up for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 2026, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has unveiled a refreshed squad to face the Netherlands in a home tie scheduled for February 7-8, 2026, at Bengaluru’s SM Krishna Tennis Stadium.

India’s path to the 2026 qualifiers was paved by their breakthrough in the 2025 World Group I tie against Switzerland in Biel. Trailing early expectations, the team scripted a 3-1 upset, their first away win over a European nation in 32 years since defeating Great Britain in 1993.

Key to this triumph were Sumit Nagal‘s gritty 6-4, 7-5 singles win over Jerome Kym and Dhakshineswar Suresh’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory against Leandro Riedi, sealing the tie after a doubles loss. The architects behind this success include captain Rohit Rajpal, and coach Zeeshan Ali.

For the Dutch clash, AITA has selected a five-man squad: Sumit Nagal (India’s top singles player), Dhakshineswar Suresh, Yuki Bhambri (doubles specialist), Rithvik Bollipalli, and Karan Singh.

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Bhambri has been India’s biggest positive from 2025, having made spectacular gains in the doubles arena. He reached the US Open finals, and performed exceedingly well at other major events. DK Suresh is the other promising youngster, having displayed his heroics at the earlier Davis Cup Tie.

Both Nagal and Suresh are fresh from their World Tennis league stint, where they rubbed shoulders with global superstars, and would be looking to script history for their country.

Notably, experienced doubles player N Sriram Balaji has been dropped, with selectors citing a “transition phase” and focus on future-proofing the team amid Balaji’s inconsistent 2025 form and minor injuries.

This Indian lineup will be tasked with taking on a strong and experienced Netherlands side, spearheaded by Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp.

On paper, the task is daunting, with India ranked 33rd and entering as underdogs against fourth-ranked Netherlands, the runners-up from the previous edition.

India’s squad for Davis Cup Qualifiers 2026 tie

Main contingent

• Sumit Nagal
• Dhakshineswar Suresh
• Yuki Bhambri
• Rithvik Bollipalli
• Karan Singh

Reserves

• Aryan Shah
• Anirudh Chandrasekar
• Digvijay Pratap Singh

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