Despite boycott demands, Tennis Canada keeps Israel in Davis Cup lineup

Tennis authorities have ignored calls from hundreds of activists to bar Israel from next month's Davis Cup matches in Halifax, Canada.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF), which runs the global tournament, and Tennis Canada confirmed that Israel would face Canada at the Scotiabank Centre on 12-13 September, with the winner advancing to the 2026 qualifiers.

More than 400 athletes, coaches, academics, journalists, and sports officials, including 106 based in Atlantic Canada, signed an open letter urging Tennis Canada to cancel the event.

The letter denounced Israel's participation as "unconscionable" amid its genocidal war in Gaza and called on Canadian players to refuse to face Israeli opponents, citing examples such as Jordanian player Abdullah Shelbayh's recent withdrawal from a tournament in Greece to avoid an Israeli competitor.

"This is an important moment for Sport Canada and Tennis Canada to promote social justice and stand on the right side of history," the letter said.

Signatories include University of British Columbia professors Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, University of Ottawa professor and former Amnesty International Canada head Alex Neve, as well as three former UN special rapporteurs.

The letter said that sports can either legitimise or challenge state narratives and urged Canada to follow countries that have boycotted Israel in international competitions.

In a statement, the ITF said Israel was still eligible to compete as it had not been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Sue Uteck, a member of the event's advisory committee, acknowledged the controversy surrounding Israel's inclusion. She said she had been "inundated" with emails about the issue, noting that hosting the matches would require heightened policing and security.

"You never want to mix athletics and politics," she said.

Activists also pointed to what they say is a double standard. Russia and Belarus remain banned from the Davis Cup and all international team competitions by the ITF since 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. No similar sanction has been applied to Israel despite its ongoing war on Gaza.

More than 800 Palestinian athletes have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel's indiscriminate offensive in October 2023, as the enclave's sports community continues to suffer under bombardment, deliberate starvation, and the collapse of infrastructure.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Canada has already sanctioned Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.