International tennis games to return to Israel in February for 1st time since Oct. 7
Israel Tennis Association lauds ‘historic’ unanimous decision by sport’s governing body to let national team host Lithuania in Davis Cup playoffs following Gaza ceasefire
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Israel’s national tennis team will host Davis Cup playoff games at home in February for the first time since the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza, the Israel Tennis Association announced on Sunday.
The Israeli team, which has been holding its designated home games in other countries during the war, will host Lithuania’s team at Netanya’s Arena Israel on February 6-7 for the World Group 1 playoffs of team tennis’s biggest international tournament, the association said.
It is the first major international tennis event to come to Israel since the Hamas attack, and the Israeli Davis Cup team’s first time playing at home since its shock September 2023 win against Japan in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli team’s return home follows a recent unanimous ruling by the International Tennis Federations, the sport’s governing body, that it was now safe to play in Israel, the Israel Tennis Association said, calling the ITF ruling “significant and historic.”
“It’s a moving moment for the sport,” said Avi Peretz, chairman of the Israel Tennis Association. “Following a difficult period, we managed to bring the team’s games back home, to their natural habitat — in front of an Israeli audience. We’ll keep working so that every athlete and team will be able to represent Israel proudly, here at home.”
The ITA said its leadership had in recent months lobbied the ITF, sending official letters and “detailed data and security reports,” to bring the Davis Cup games back to Israel.
Peretz and ITA counsel Dahlia Bushinsky eventually appeared before a special committee established by the global federation to look into the matter, the ITA said.
The special ITF committee voted unanimously to bring the games back to Israel following “an in-depth examination of all the information and commitments that were presented,” the Israeli association said.
The ITF decision made it the second major global sports body to announce the return of international games to Israel following the October 9 Gaza ceasefire agreement. On October 21, European basketball’s governing body announced it would bring EuroLeague and EuroCup games back to Israel starting in December.
Israel’s participation in sporting events abroad has drawn protests by pro-Palestinian groups. A Davis Cup game that Israel played in Halifax in September had to be held in a closed venue due to “escalating safety concerns,” Tennis Canada said at the time.
More than 400 Canadian athletes and academics, including Olympic runner Moh Ahmed, had urged Tennis Canada to cancel the game altogether over Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
AP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.