The 1978 Davis Cup was the 67th edition of the
Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 50 teams entered the competition, 29 in the Europe Zone, 10 in the Americas Zone, and 11 in the Eastern Zone.
The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
defeated
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
in the Americas Inter-Zonal final,
Australia defeated
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the Eastern Zone final, and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
and
Sweden were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
respectively.
In the Inter-Zonal Zone, the United States defeated Sweden and Great Britain defeated Australia in the semifinals. The United States then defeated Great Britain in the final to win their 25th title overall and their first since
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
. The final was held at the
Mission Hills Country Club
The Mission Hills Country Club is a country club in the western United States, located in Rancho Mirage, California, southeast of Palm Springs.
Overview
Among the facilities at the club are 3 championship golf courses (54 holes), 27 tennis court ...
in
Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on 8–10 December.
Political controversy
The competition was significantly marked by political issues:
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, and the
Caribbean/West Indies all withdrew from the North & Central America Zone due to the continued presence of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in the competition, despite continued international condemnation of their government's
apartheid policies.
The North & Central America Zone final between the United States and South Africa, held at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
,
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, attracted crowds of up to 5,000 protesters each day, and efforts by the South African side to appease critics by nominating
Peter Lamb as its first "
coloured" player were derided by some as
tokenism
Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...
, given he did not actually play during the tie and was a student enrolled at Vanderbilt University at the time of the tournament.
The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
continued to be barred for competing following its refusal to compete against Chile in the
1976 semifinals and its promised refusal to compete against South Africa.
Americas Zone
North & Central America Zone
South America Zone
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Americas Inter-Zonal Final
Chile vs. United States
Eastern Zone
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Final
Australia vs. New Zealand
Europe Zone
Zone A
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Final
Great Britain vs. Czechoslovakia
Zone B
Pre-Qualifying Round
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Final
Sweden vs. Hungary
Inter-Zonal Zone
Draw
Semifinals
Sweden vs. United States
Great Britain vs. Australia
Final
United States vs. Great Britain
References
External links
Davis Cup Official Website
{{1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix
Davis Cups by year
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
1978 controversies
1978 in sports in Tennessee
Vanderbilt University