MOSCOW, Mar 14 Serbia will replace Russia in the 2022 Davis Cup Final year, according to the official website of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Earlier, the ITF suspended the membership of the tennis federations of Russia and Belarus. Russian and Belarusian tennis players will not be able to participate in team competitions under the auspices of the ITF. The sanctions will be in effect throughout 2022 and may be extended. At the same time, tennis players from Russia and Belarus can participate in tournaments individually. Thus, Russian and Belarusian teams will not be able to take part in the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. The Russian men's and women's teams are the current winners of these tournaments and have automatically qualified for participation in the finals of the 2022 tournaments. The Russian men's team will be replaced by the Serbian team, which lost in the 2021 tournament in the semi-finals to the Croats (1-2). The Serbs have been given a wild card to compete in the 2022 Davis Cup Final. The replacement team will be selected from the 12 teams that failed to qualify. Instead of Russian tennis players, Australians will perform, who in 2021 lost in the semifinals to the Swiss. Accordingly, the Australian team will not participate in the qualification, and their rivals — the Slovaks — will directly reach the final.
