<P> The Davis Cup is an annual international team event in men's tennis . Established in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, it is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), who describe it as the "World Cup of tennis ." The first event in 1900 was a match between Great Britain and the United States, while 135 nations have entered the 2016 Davis Cup . </P> <P> The tournament sees players competing for their country in four singles and one doubles matches, known as rubbers, over the course of three days, with the team that wins three rubbers progressing . The countries are divided into groups based upon their location or performance in previous years . The Davis Cup World Group is the top level of the competition and features matches between players from the top 16 countries at the start of the year . Countries that lose their first round match face a relegation play - off against winning countries from the continental zones . World Group winning countries progress to the quarter - finals . Nations have to win a further three ties in order to claim the position of Davis Cup Champions . </P> <P> The United States are the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with 32 victories . Australia are second with 28 and Great Britain are third with 10 . Teams from Europe have won the competition the most with 42 victories, followed by North America with 32 and Oceania with 28 . Argentina are the current champions, they beat Croatia 3--2 in the final in 2016 . </P> <P> The Davis Cup was founded in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge . Four members of Harvard University wished to challenge Great Britain in a tennis competition . One of the American players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered a sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low for approximately $1,000 . The first match, held at Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts, was won by the American team 3--0 . There was no match the following year, but the United States retained the trophy in 1902, beating Great Britain 3--2 . This was followed by four successive victories for Britain, from 1903 to 1906 . The 1904 Davis Cup saw new teams compete for the first time, as Belgium and France entered . </P>

Which country has won most davis cups in tennis