Australia will play Ecuador in one of 13 Davis Cup first round qualifying ties this weekend with James Duckworth, Aleksandar Vukic, Rinky Hijikata, Jordan Thompson and Australian Open 2026 men’s doubles finalist Jason Kubler selected to represent the green and gold.
Thompson, who first represented Australia in 2017, makes his return to the team competition, kicking off proceedings against Ecuador’s No.2 player Alvaro Guillen Meza.
World No.86 Duckworth then faces the 257th-ranked Andres Andrade in the second match of the tie.
Hijikata made his Davis Cup debut at the Qualifiers 2nd Round last year, combining with Thompson to defeat Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the only match he contested. He will represent Australia in the men’s doubles on Day 2, alongside Kubler.
Davis Cup 1st Round Qualifier – Australia vs Ecuador
Dates: Saturday 7 to Sunday 8 February
Venue: Quito Tenis y Golf Club, Quito (clay, outdoors)
Australia
James Duckworth
Aleksandar Vukic
Rinky Hijikata
Jordan Thompson
Jason Kubler
Captain: Lleyton Hewitt
Ecuador
Alvaro Guillen Meza
Andres Andrade
Gonzalo Escobar
Diego Hidalgo
Emilio Camacho
Captain: Raul Viver
Order of play
Day 1: Saturday 7 February 2026
11.00am local time (3.00am AEDT Sunday 8 February)
M1 Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs Alvaro Guillen Meza (ECU)
M2 James Duckworth (AUS) vs Andres Andrade (ECU)
Day 2: Sunday 8 February 2026
10.00am local time (2.00am AEDT Monday 9 February)
M3 Rinky Hijikata / Jason Kubler (AUS) vs Gonzalo Escobari / Diego Hidalgo Goransson (ECU)
M4 James Duckworth (AUS) vs Alvaro Guillen Meza (ECU)
M5 Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs Andres Andrade (ECU)
Tie fast facts
- This tie is the 2nd Davis Cup meeting for Ecuador and Australia
- Australia won their only previous meeting 25 years ago on grass in Australia leading the Davis Cup head-to-head count 1-0 over Ecuador
- Australia currently sits at No.4 on the Davis Cup Nations Rankings list
- In 2025, Australia defeated Sweden 3-1 in the Qualifiers 1st round in February before falling to Belgium 2-3 in the Qualifiers 2nd Round in September
- Australia are 28-time Davis Cup champions, having won the title more than any other nation except USA
- The 26 nations contesting the Qualifiers 1st Round this weekend are bidding to advance to the Qualifiers 2nd Round in September. The 13 winning nations will join 2025 runners-up Spain in seven home-and-away ties in the Qualifiers 2nd Round. The seven winning nations from the Qualifiers 2nd Round will join world champions Italy at the Davis Cup Final 8 in November
- The ties this weekend will be played as best-of-five-matches over two days. All live matches are played as best-of-three tiebreak sets.
How to watch and live scores
- Australia’s Davis Cup 1st Round Qualifier will be broadcast live and free on 9Gem and 9Now
- Live scores available via DavisCup.com
Davis Cup 1st Round Qualifier media notes
- Preview media notes can be viewed here