CP25170434

MALAGA, Spain — Canada will host South Korea at a to-be-determined location for the 2024 Davis Cup qualifiers from Feb. 2-4, Tennis Canada announced Sunday.

It’s the first time Canada will host a match for the men’s tennis competition since 2018 in Toronto. Canada will be one of 24 countries vying for 12 spots in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals.

The Canadians earned an automatic berth to the group stage this year after winning its first-ever Davis Cup title in 2022 with a victory over Australia in the final.

Despite advancing out of the group stage, Canada lost 2-1 to Finland in the quarterfinals on Tuesday to fall out of the 2023 tournament.

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., led Canada to the title last year, but both were unavailable to play this week due to injury.

Canada is No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation’s Davis Cup rankings, while South Korea is No. 18. Canada beat South Korea 2-1 in the only previous meeting between the two countries at the 2022 group stage in Valencia, Spain.