Captains America: Bob Bryan and Lindsay Davenport chase the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup at the same venue

There will be more focus on this year’s Davis Cup Finals than there has been in years.

Bob Bryan, former Davis Cup champion, future Hall of Famer and current captain of the U.S. team, hopes it’s not only because Rafael Nadal is saying goodbye to tennis in Malaga, Spain.

“Our guys have belief that they can go the whole way,” Bryan told TENNIS.com late last week, on a call with fellow U.S. captain Lindsay Davenport. “It’s a goal that we’ve been talking about all year, is to win the Cup.

“It’s the last tournament of the year, so you can really empty the tank.”

We have four days to get the chemistry going, and that really falls on the shoulders of myself. Lindsay Davenport, U.S. Billie Jean King Cup captain

Considering the strength of Bryan’s squad, that’s a scary proposition for opponents. He’ll cross the Atlantic with three Top 25 singles players—Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton—as well as this year’s Olympic silver medalists in doubles, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

A potential problem, though, is the Americans’ first—and potentially, last—opponent: Australia. The 2023 Davis Cup runner-up could trot out Alex de Minaur (who, like Fritz, is playing this week’s ATP Finals), Montreal champion and Novak Djokovic conqueror Alexei Popyrin—as well as this year’s Olympic gold medalist in doubles, Matthew Ebden.

World No. 26 Jordan Thompson and the always-dangerous Thanasi Kokkinakis are also options for the star-studded quarterfinal tie.

“He seems to always get the best out of his guys,” Bryan says of the captain who will oppose him, Lleyton Hewitt. “There’s a lot of strength on that team; I feel our roster is just as strong, just as capable.”

American fans will be scarce at this incarnation of Davis Cup, which has shed the historic home-away format in favor of the final eight teams converging in one venue. The Billie Jean King Cup, which begins Wednesday, will also be decided in Malaga.

“I know our team gets 100 tickets,” says Bryan, who pines for more charged and partisan arenas, “and there’s probably going to be some of those tickets left over.”

Unlike Bryans’ squad, which starts play on November 21, Davenport’s team will start its competition in the round of 16—though they get a far-less imposing opener in Slovakia. Rebecca Sramkova, WTA No. 43, is the only Top 100 player on the team.

“You never underestimate anybody, or any country in this format,” says Davenport, whose team plays this Thursday. “I know Slovakia will be a strong team, but I like our chances. I like our vibes.

“We’re looking to still be around there when the boys make their first match on Thursday.”

Davenport’s side, while undoubtedly missing some heavy hitters (Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Madison Keys) is nonetheless all within the Top 100. Danielle Collins—who like Nadal was planning to retire in Malaga, but since changed course—is the team’s biggest presence on and off the court. Peyton Stearns will look to end her second consecutive year inside the Top 50 with an outsized achievement. Ashlyn Krueger, Taylor Townsend and Caroline Dolehide round out a talented if collectively unproven team.

“We’re coming in with some very experienced players and some newcomers,” says Davenport. “It will be an interesting mix for us.

“We have four days to get the chemistry going, and that really falls on the shoulders of myself.”

Should Davenport’s side prevail, its quarterfinal tie will, like the U.S. men’s, be against Australia. The Aussies and the Canadians received byes into the final eight, along with Czechia and Italy.

A win for Bryan’s boys would see them meet defending champion Italy (expected to have Jannik Sinner in tow) or Argentina in the semis. A possible collision with Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t happen until the final.

Neither U.S. side is considered favorites to win a Cup, but given the exceptional American depth in both men’s and women’s tennis, it’s hard not to see either team as a tough out. In both competitions, countries will play three best-of-three-set matches: two in singles, with a doubles to follow.

“Hats off to this generation of Americans,” Bryan says. “We’re really deep right now, lot of options. I know Lindsay had a few people pull out, but she just went down the list.

“She’s got a few rookies, which will be exciting, because you never know what those kind of nerves and that pressure does. But a lot of times you get players that dig a little deeper.”

One of those players could be Stearns. The Cincinnati-born 23-year-old won her first WTA title this spring, and played in all four Grand Slams for the first time. While still susceptible to inconsistency, she possesses a powerful game capable of upending more established players. In 2024, she defeated Mirra Andreeva, Daria Kasatkina (twice), Keys and Victoria Azarenka.

Davenport, who is based near Stearns’ training base in Florida, has seen the youngster’s professional progress up close.

“She was one of the first players I circled, with Danielle,” says Davenport. “She’s used to team events, being such a great collegiate player. I’ve never seen her take a day off, competing, trying to get better.”

Should either team make a memorable late-season run, it won’t be just because of the players who make the pre-Thanksgiving trip. Pegula and Navarro sent the Americans into the Finals with a win over Belgium this April in Orlando. Bryan says he’s “lucky to have our guns for this tie,” but five American singles players who won’t play in Malaga helped get the U.S. men get there, with victories in Lithuania and China.

“Everybody knew in this Olympic year, it was going to be a challenge,” says Davenport of the busier-than-usual calendar—one that already stretches past 10 months—and some of the notable names not taking part. “But all the players, the ones that couldn’t be there, they’re super supportive, sending messages all the time, and I think that’s super important. Madison [Keys], Emma, Jess and Coco [Gauff] are amazing and can’t wait to play again.”

“I want to thank Sebi Korda and Chris Eubanks for going to Lithuania and getting us to the next stage, which was China,” says Bryan, “and then Brandon [Nakashima], who was a rookie—he won two matches over there. He led that Zhuhai team (which included Mackenzie McDonald and Reilly Opelka), which got us to this stage.

“If we can go all the way, there’s a lot of people involved in this run.”