Germany beat the United States 3-2 in the men's squad final at Parc du Tremblay on Sunday. It is the first squad title in the three editions of this championship that has not gone to the United States.
Both nations came through the same half-draw structure. Germany beat Switzerland in the quarter-finals and Austria 3-0 in the semi-finals; the United States beat Spain and then Italy, also 3-0. That put Germany in a men's squad final for the first time. At the two championships before this one, Germany met the United States in the semi-finals both times, and lost both times.
How the tie fell
A squad tie is five pairings played side by side, seed one against seed one down to seed five against seed five, and the first nation to three wins takes it. Tennis readers know the shape from the Davis Cup.
The United States took seed one, Nelson and Woolley over Schirop and Kühner in two games, and seed four, Hamilton and Fowler over Bichler and Nerad in three. Germany answered at seed two, where Seiffarth and Siemer beat Gu and Marino in three games, and at seed five, where Christiani and Harder beat Abrams and Summers 21-17, 21-16.
That left the tie at 2-2 with one pairing still on the field: seed three, Rose and Clifford for the United States against Grönebaum and Prüfer for Germany. It went to a third game, which is why it finished last. Germany led 4-1 early, then 19-9, then 20-9, eleven points clear, and closed it 21-9. Watching it live, Jakub wrote down that Germany was completely taking the Americans apart.
| Seed | United States | Germany | Games | Won by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson / Woolley | Schirop / Kühner | 21-19, 21-12 | USA |
| 2 | Gu / Marino | Seiffarth / Siemer | 13-21, 21-14, 17-21 | GER |
| 3 | Rose / Clifford | Grönebaum / Prüfer | 17-21, 21-16, 9-21 | GER |
| 4 | Hamilton / Fowler | Bichler / Nerad | 14-21, 21-13, 21-15 | USA |
| 5 | Abrams / Summers | Christiani / Harder | 17-21, 16-21 | GER |
The same opponent, the same round, twice
Germany lost the men's squad semi-final to the United States in 2022 at Molenheide, and lost it to the United States again in 2024 at Guildford. Both times it took bronze from there. Both times the United States went on to the title, in 2024 over Canada in a final that also finished 3-2.
So the wall had stood in the same round twice. On Sunday Germany got past that round, and the United States was waiting in the next one anyway. The note our own record keeps on 2024 reads: all three individual titles went to Europe, the United States retained both squad titles. For the men, that stopped being true on Sunday.
The rest of the podium
Italy took the bronze, beating Austria 4-1. The United States leaves with silver, and Germany with its first men's squad title.
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Quick guide: the world championship in brief
Germany. They beat the United States 3-2 in the final at Parc du Tremblay on Sunday 6 September 2026. The deciding pairing was seed three, Grönebaum and Prüfer over Rose and Clifford 21-17, 16-21, 21-9, the last of the five to finish.
It is the first squad title in the history of this championship that does not go to the United States. In the first two editions, in Molenheide in 2022 and Guildford in 2024, the United States won both the men's and the women's squad title, four out of four.
Bronze in 2022 and bronze in 2024. Both times Germany lost the semi-final to the United States.
Each nation fields five pairs, seeded one to five. Each pair plays the correspondingly seeded pair of the opposing nation, and three match wins take the tie.
Italy, who beat Austria 4-1 in the third-place tie.
At Parc du Tremblay in Champigny-sur-Marne near Paris, France, from 2 to 6 September 2026. The squad competition closed the championship on the Sunday.