The USTA announced that tennis legend and Davis Cup champion Bob Bryan has been named the next captain of the U.S. Davis Cup Team. Bryan assumes the role immediately and will make his debut as full-time captain with the U.S. team’s Group Stage Finals matches September 12-17.
“I am extremely honored and humbled for this opportunity to captain the United States Davis Cup Team. I have been inspired watching these young American players continue to rise and I am motivated to contribute to this positive momentum,” Bryan said. “I feel grateful to have represented my country in Davis Cup. These experiences have offered me my proudest moments on the court and my most unforgettable memories. Playing Davis Cup was a dream for me as a young junior and the goal of making the team pushed me while I played on tour. I am passionately looking forward to working with the players, their coaches, teams, and the USTA support staff in our mission to bring the Cup back to the United States.”
Bryan competed in 31 ties for the U.S. from 2003-20 and was part of the U.S. team that won its record 32nd Davis Cup title in 2007. He and brother Mike went 25-5 together in Davis Cup doubles matches for the U.S., setting records for team doubles wins and years played (15) and landing high on the team records list in many other categories. Read of Bryan’s debut as a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team in the ebook “U.S. Davis Cup Team Stories – The Bryan Brothers Debut In A 2003 Season of Change” here https://a.co/d/7yYXxyW via @Amazon
Bryan was also closely involved with the team as a coach in 2022. He assisted captain Mardy Fish and coach David Nainkin for the team’s Qualifying victory a year ago and served as acting captain of the team in its Group Stage Finals ties, guiding the U.S. to a 2-1 record and Final 8 qualification.
As captain, Bryan will also have an active, year-round role with USTA Player and Coach Development, traveling to tournaments and camps to support American players and serving as a mentor for American pros and juniors.
“Few players in the history of the game have personified a champion the way Bob Bryan has,” said Brian Hainline, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “Bob’s consistent and long-term success at the highest levels, as well as his demonstrated leadership in a team environment, make him an ideal captain for the Davis Cup Team amid such an exciting era for American men’s tennis.”
The U.S. team defeated Uzbekistan in February with Nainkin as interim captain to qualify for the Group Stage of the 2023 Finals, which will feature four groups of four nations each competing at four different locations worldwide. The top two finishers of each group will advance to the Final 8 stage, which will crown this year’s champion November 21-26 in Malaga, Spain.
The Bryan brothers played their last professional match in the 2020 Davis Cup Qualifiers before retiring. Together they won a team-record 16 Grand Slams and 119 titles, spent 438 weeks as co-No. 1s and won Olympic Gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 120 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
