1931 International Lawn Tennis Challenge

Details
Duration	19 April – 26 July 1931
Edition	26th
Teams	30
Champion
Winning Nation	France
← 1930 1932 →

The 1931 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 26th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup.

Due to an increase in South American entries, the America Zone was split into the North & Central America Zone and the South America Zone, with the winner of each sub-zone playing to determine who moved to the Inter-Zonal round. 22 teams would enter the Europe Zone, while 8 would enter the America Zone. These included first-time entries from Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, although Brazil withdrew without playing a tie, and Paraguay would not play in the Davis Cup again until 1982.^[1] This year also marked the first time that ties were played in South America.

The United States defeated Argentina in the America Inter-Zonal Final, but would then lose to Great Britain in the Inter-Zonal play-off. France defeated Great Britain in the Challenge Round, giving France their fifth straight title. The final was played at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France on 24–26 July.^[2][3][4]

America Zone

North & Central America Zone

	Semifinals 1–3 May					Final 21–23 May
	Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
	United States		5
						Montreal, Canada (grass)
	Mexico		0
						United States		4
						Canada		1
	bye
	Canada

South America Zone

Quarterfinals 26–28 March

Semifinals 2–4 April

Final 24–26 April

Asunción, Paraguay (hard)

Paraguay

0

Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)

Argentina

5

Argentina

5

Uruguay

0

Uruguay

Santiago, Chile

bye

Argentina

3

Chile

0

bye

Brazil

Brazil

Chile

w/o

bye

Chile

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

United States vs. Argentina

United States 5	Chevy Chase Lawn Tennis Club, Chevy Chase, MD, United States[5] 28–30 May 1931 Clay		Argentina 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Frank Shields Guillermo Robson 3 6 6 2 6 2 6 2     2 Sidney Wood Ronaldo Boyd 6 4 6 1 6 2       3 Frank Shields / Sidney Wood Lucilo del Castillo / Adriano Zappa 6 4 8 6 2 6 4 2     4 Frank Shields Ronaldo Boyd 6 2 6 2 6 2       5 Cliff Sutter Guillermo Robson 3 6 6 4 6 3 6 3

Europe Zone

Draw

First Round 16 April–5 May

Second Round 8–17 May

Quarterfinals 20 May–6 June

Semifinals 12–18 June

Final 9–11 July

Finland

Helsinki, Finland

bye

Finland

1

Egypt

Egypt

4

Paris, France (clay)

bye

Egypt

0

Yugoslavia

Zagreb, Yugoslavia

Japan

5

bye

Yugoslavia

0

Japan

Japan

5

Eastbourne, England (grass)

bye

Japan

0

Belgium

Brussels, Belgium (clay)

Great Britain

5

bye

Belgium

0

Great Britain

5

Great Britain

5

Eastbourne, England (grass)

Monaco

0

Great Britain

5

Germany

0

Dublin, Ireland (grass)

South Africa

0

South Africa

5

South Africa

4

Switzerland

0

Ireland

1

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

Ireland

5

Great Britain

4

Greece

3

Athens, Greece

Czechoslovakia

1

Austria

2

Greece

1

Spain

2

Czechoslovakia

4

Prague, Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

3

Czechoslovakia

3

Italy

4

Turin, Italy (clay)

Italy

0

Hungary

1

Italy

3

bye

Netherlands

0

Copenhagen, Denmark

Netherlands

Czechoslovakia

5

bye

Oslo, Norway (clay)

Denmark

0

Norway

Norway

0

bye

Poland

3

Copenhagen, Denmark

Poland

Poland

2

bye

Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark

3

Denmark

Denmark

5

bye

Romania

0

Romania

Final

Czechoslovakia vs. Great Britain

Czechoslovakia 1	Prague, Czechoslovakia[6] 9–11 July 1931 Clay		Great Britain 4
1 2 3 4 5 1 Roderich Menzel Bunny Austin 6 3 2 6 8 6 3 6 3 6   2 Ladislav Hecht Fred Perry 1 6 6 8 3 6       3 Ferenc Maršálek / Roderich Menzel Pat Hughes / Fred Perry 4 6 6 4 4 6 2 6     4 Ladislav Hecht Bunny Austin 6 2 7 5 6 4       5 Roderich Menzel Fred Perry 5 7 3 6 5 7

Inter-Zonal Final

Great Britain vs. United States

Great Britain 3	Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France[7] 17–19 July 1931 Clay		United States 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Bunny Austin Sidney Wood 2 6 6 0 8 6 7 5     2 Fred Perry Frank Shields 8 10 4 6 2 6       3 Pat Hughes / Fred Perry George Lott / John Van Ryn 1 6 3 6 6 4 3 6     4 Fred Perry Sidney Wood 6 3 8 10 6 3 6 3     5 Bunny Austin Frank Shields 8 6 6 3 7 5

Challenge Round

France vs. Great Britain

France 3	Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France[4] 24–26 July 1931 Clay		Great Britain 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Henri Cochet Bunny Austin 3 6 11 9 6 2 6 4     2 Jean Borotra Fred Perry 6 4 8 10 0 6 6 4 4 6   3 Jacques Brugnon / Henri Cochet Pat Hughes / Charles Kingsley 6 1 5 7 6 3 8 6     4 Jean Borotra Bunny Austin 5 7 3 6 6 3 5 7     5 Henri Cochet Fred Perry 6 4 1 6 9 7 6 3