Davis Cup tennis is returning to Pretoria soon and the national team will be in action this time in Irene, Centurion, where they were involved in several ties a few years ago.

The Renault South Africa team will face Montenegro at Irene Country Club in Pretoria between 7-8 February 2026 in the national side’s next Davis Cup tie, with the venue and dates having been officially confirmed.

It will be the first Davis Cup tie to be played at Irene Country Club since the SA team narrowly fell in a 3-2 defeat to Israel in a Euro/Africa Group I contest in February 2018.

The draw for the World Group II playoffs had already been conducted in September, with Renault South Africa (ranked 60th) drawn to meet Montenegro (85th) on home soil.

In their last tie, played at Groenkloof Tennis Club in Pretoria in September, the Renault SA squad lost 4-1 against Morocco, and they need to beat Montenegro in order to retain their place in World Group II.
Montenegro, meanwhile, won four of their five ties at the Group III Europe tournament in North Macedonia in June, qualifying for the World Group II playoffs.

“Irene Country Club has hosted several Davis Cup ties in the past, and we are confident the venue will again assist us in putting on a memorable event between Renault South Africa and Montenegro,” said Tennis South Africa General Manager Anthony Moruthane.

According to Moruthane, the national team have become accustomed to playing at the city’s world-class venues in Pretoria in recent years.

“We again hope that the altitude of the capital city will assist the players in putting on a good showing against Montenegro in this hard-court tie. We call on tennis fans and the wider community to come out in full force, fill the stands, and show their support for Team Renault South Africa,” Moruthane remarked.

South Africa’s Davis Cup captain, Pietie Norval, will announce his team later, but indications are that it will not be much different from the team that was in action in Groenkloof in September.

Although South Africa’s top male player, Lloyd Harris, is back in action after a long injury battle, it is still uncertain whether he will be available for Davis Cup duty. Harris, who was already South Africa’s number-one Davis Cup player as a teenager about a decade ago, has fallen back to 222nd in the ATP rankings due to his injury problems.

After reaching the third round of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2021, Harris was in September that year ranked 31st in the world.

Tennis fans will therefore hope that this star player will be available for his country in February to help the South African team save their place in World Group II.

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