World Tennis Championships The Davis Cup is the tennis equivalent of the World Cup. Dwight Davis launched the greatest annual international team tournament in the world in 1900. The United Kingdom is the only country to have competed in every edition of the event and has won the trophy 10 times, most recently in 2015. The current format of the Davis Cup was introduced in 1975 when it was renamed in honor of American athlete and businessman William Davis who had died a few months before. Previous to this change, the competition was known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge (ILTC). In 2014, France secured its first Davis Cup title in nearly 80 years after winning 3-2 against Australia in the final match at a packed Court One in London. French player Pierre Hugues Herbert claimed the first of his two victories with a straight sets win over Australian star Bernard Tomic. This marks the first time that any nation other than the United States has lifted the Davis Cup. France has been one of the most successful nations in Davis Cup history, having won the cup on five occasions. The country's last victory came in 1978 when they defeated Sweden in the final in San Francisco. Sweden would go on to win the cup twice more during the 1980s. However, France has regained its status as a major force in tennis by becoming the first country other than the United States to win the cup since its name changed in 1975.