For the South African team, this weekend’s Davis Cup World Group II Play-offs tie against Montenegro could be the start of their turnaround strategy, but a defeat could also mean historic relegation to their lowest ever position in this prestigious tennis competition.

The pressure will therefore be enormous on team captain Pietie Norval and his players to save South Africa’s tennis honour from the humiliation of a lowest ever Davis Cup position with this tie, which will be decided on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 February at the Irene Country Club in Centurion.

At Thursday’s pre-draw media event, both teams declared they are in a good space and ready for the challenge. The SA squad arrived in Pretoria on Sunday last week and Norval said they were preparing well.

📣 Announcement

The Davis Cup World Group II Play-offs between the @Renault_SA South Africa 🇿🇦 team and Montenegro 🇲🇪 are set to take place at Irene Country Club, Pretoria, on 7–8 February 2026!

Come through and support Team SA in this exciting international showdown!

📅 7 &… pic.twitter.com/9ckIIAAhoJ

— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) December 9, 2025

With all five members of the national team being fit and healthy, Norval said they were ready to put up a fight against the visitors.

“Our preparation has gone really well and it’s nice to have our entire team healthy. Everybody is in good form, coming out of their base training, so I am very happy with the team ahead of the tie,” he said.

The skipper admitted, however, that they didn’t know too much about their opposition, with Montenegro ranked 25 places below Renault South Africa in the Davis Cup rankings.

“We don’t know much, to be honest, because there’s not that much information on them. Some of the players in our team have seen some of the guys around, and I watched them training a bit this morning. They looked pretty decent. When we play against countries we don’t know much about, then our preparation is focused on ourselves and trying to deal with what we can deliver instead of focusing that much on the opponents,” Norval remarked.

The national side’s top-ranked player, Phillip Henning, said he was pleased to be making his return after missing the SA team’s last Davis Cup tie against Morocco due to injury. He said the players in the squad were feeling strong and were confident ahead of the tie to be played in front of what is expected to be a lively home crowd.

“I’m feeling great and I’m ready for battle this week. I think all the boys are looking very good, it’s an awesome venue and it’s always nice playing at home. It’s awesome to be back in the team and I’m looking forward to the weekend,” said Henning, who confirmed he had fully recovered from a back niggle he picked up last month.

Meanwhile, Montenegro’s top-ranked player Petar Jovanovic said the tourists had acclimatised well since arriving in the country on Tuesday. He felt they were well suited to the conditions as the Montenegro team looked to spring a surprise against their fancied hosts.

“We’re used to the heat. In our country summers get really hot, and I feel like all four of us enjoy playing in the heat, so maybe we can use that to our advantage. We’re also getting used to the altitude. Our serves are getting better and better every day, as we get used to the height of the ball,” Jovanovic said.

In their last Davis Cup tie against Morocco last year, the under-strength SA team lost 4-1, with multiple players struggling with injuries and illness. They must now beat Montenegro in order to retain their place in World Group II.

Montenegro won four of their five ties at the Group III Europe tournament in North Macedonia last season, qualifying for the World Group II playoffs.

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