Great Britain aim to avoid FA Cup-style upset as Davis Cup tie with Poland begins in Gdynia

Great Britain must beat Poland in Gdynia over the next two days to remain in contention for next year’s Davis Cup and to protect their place among the competition’s elite.

The tie is being played without Britain’s top-ranked singles player, Jack Draper, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of bone bruising in his serving arm. That leaves world number 34 Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley, ranked 54th, to carry Britain’s singles challenge against significantly lower-ranked Polish opponents on Friday.

Norrie opens Friday’s singles against 19-year-old Tomasz Berkieta, ranked 545th, and Fearnley will follow against Olaf Pieczkowski, ranked 484th. Britain are clear favourites on paper, but captain Leon Smith urged caution. "It doesn't often work that way," Smith said, adding that players ranked 400 or 500 can play to a very high level and that his team must be "very respectful of the opposition, which we are, and very professional, which we have been."

Saturday’s schedule features the debut of Britain’s world number one doubles pairing, Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash, followed by two reverse singles. Arthur Fery, 23, is the fifth member of the British squad.

Poland will be without two of their leading singles players. Hubert Hurkacz, a 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist, is dealing with knee problems, and Kamil Majchrzak withdrew from the US Open earlier this month because of a chest muscle injury.

The result in Gdynia carries immediate consequences. Britain lost 3-2 in Japan in the first round of this year’s Davis Cup, and a defeat to Poland would force a February play-off that could lead to relegation to World Group 2.

Smith described the decision for Draper to end his season early as the right call, saying the British number one had been keen to travel but needed to prioritise recovery after an otherwise strong start to the year. Draper withdrew from the US Open because of the arm problem.

Smith also addressed broader scheduling challenges for Davis Cup weeks, noting that ties often follow Grand Slams and can demand quick travel and surface changes for players who have advanced deep into major tournaments. "There is a strong appetite to represent your country in Davis Cup, but there is some work to do in the formatting," he said.

Norrie, who has not played Davis Cup since the 2023 quarter-final with Serbia because of injury and illness, said the event remains one of his favourite weeks on the calendar. "It's such a great group of guys and girls - it's just exactly what I want to be doing," he said. "It's a very different week to a week on the tour. It's almost like another rest - it's such a precious week."

Britain go into the tie as favourites on paper but must guard against what Smith called an "FA Cup giant-killing" as they attempt to secure a win that would keep them among the top-tier nations and preserve their opportunity to push for the Davis Cup title next year.