Monaco has written a new chapter in its tennis history, beating Finland 3-1 to secure qualification for the Davis Cup Qualifiers for the very first time, a milestone that places the Principality among the world’s leading tennis nations heading into 2027.
Valentin Vacherot led the charge with two crucial singles victories across the tie, played in Espoo. On Friday, the world No. 21 and reigning Shanghai Masters champion levelled the tie for Monaco with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Finland’s Eero Vasa, after Lucas Catarina, making his return to the singles line-up, had fallen to Otto Virtanen 6-0, 6-3 in the opening rubber.
Saturday brought the turning point, as Monaco’s experienced doubles pairing of Hugo Nys and Romain Arneodo won a hard-fought match to put the Principality ahead for the first time in the tie. Vacherot then had the chance to seal it, and delivered, battling past Virtanen 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 after nearly three hours on court to confirm Monaco’s historic qualification.
The result caps a remarkable run for Monaco, who have now won three consecutive ties, against Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Finland, to climb from Group III as recently as 2021 into the Qualifiers, the tier of competition that opens each Davis Cup season and offers a genuine, if difficult, route toward the Finals themselves. Monaco last took part in the Davis Cup’s opening round all the way back in 1929, the year the Principality first entered the competition, making this qualification an unprecedented high point in nearly a century of history for Monégasque tennis.
Vacherot’s rise has been central to the achievement, with the world No. 21 having climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 16 earlier this year following his breakthrough Masters 1000 title in Shanghai last October. Alongside him, the well-established Nys-Arneodo doubles pairing has proven a consistent source of points throughout Monaco’s climb up the Davis Cup ranks.
Monaco will now discover its opponent for the opening tie of the 2027 Qualifiers in the coming months, with Vacherot’s continued form likely to remain central to the Principality’s hopes of testing itself against some of the strongest tennis nations in the world.