The German Davis Cup team will host the team from Peru in the first round. National coach Michael Kohlmann has to do without the two top players Alexander Zverev and Daniel Altmaier – and relies on the veterans.
While Justin Engel and Tim Pütz were hitting the balls during a training session on the brand new Rebound Ace floor in the Castello multi-purpose hall on Wednesday afternoon (February 4, 2026), things were still busy around the court. A carpet was laid at the same time and the last remnants of a previous event were removed.
In the next few days, on Friday and Saturday (February 6th and 7th, 2026), there will only be one topic in the south of Düsseldorf: international top-classtennis.
The German Davis Cup team around national coach Michael Kohlmann starts the new season in front of around 3,300 spectators and welcomes the Peru national team. At first glance, it’s certainly not an opponent who should make the German team sweat too much. “If you just look at the rankings, you might get the feeling that it will be a relatively relaxed weekend,” says Kohlmann WDR.
Without Zverev and Altmaier
Nevertheless: The national tennis coach warns and points out the great talent of Ignacio Buse, who is only 21 years old and is currently ranked 98th in the world. Or the skills of Gonzalo Bueno (21), currently number 217 in the rankings. Kohlmann has known both of them for years and believes they will achieve positive development and improvement in the coming weeks and months. “We have to be careful and prepare well so that we are not surprised,” said Kohlmann.
For the German team, Jan-Lennard Struff (35, world ranking position 84) will be number 1, Yannik Hanfmann (34, position 93) will probably be number 2. The two veterans replace the two best German players currently in the international rankings, Alexander Zverev (28, position 4) and Daniel Altmaier (27, position 44).
Kohlmann was in close contact with both of them before the first round game. “Alexander played in Australia (at the Australian Open, editor’s note) for a relatively long time and very intensively, and also seemed very flat,” said Kohlmann. “And Daniel has planned South America this year and will be playing on clay next week,” said the 52-year-old Hagen native, explaining his personnel decision.
As Hope for young talent Justin Engel is there
Kevin Krawietz (34) and Tim Pütz (38) are nominated for the doubles, an internationally successful doubles team that has already won the ATP Finals (2024). With Justin Engel there is only one young hopeful in the North Rhine-Westphalia state capital. The 18-year-old is part of the German team for the second time and is considered a beacon of hope for German tennis.
“Justin can take a close look at how you prepare for such an important game and how you deal with the pressure. That’s very instructive for such young players,” says Kohlmann. ‘The two (Struff and Hanfmann, editor’s note) are certainly not the youngest anymore, but with their experience they are very important for the team.’
Big gap in German tennis
The fact is: the gap between the top German players and the young professionals is large, supposedly larger than currently in other nations. “We celebrated great successes in the youth sector last year in particular,” says the national coach.
Niels McDonald (18), for example, won the Junior French Open in Paris last summer and beat Max Schönhaus (18), who comes from Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the final. Schönhaus, for his part, won the ITF Juniors title at the end of the year, something no German player had achieved before him.
But the jump from youth to men is often difficult. “It would be nice if this could also be applied to the men’s division at the push of a button. But you always have to give the young players the time to develop,” says the national coach.
Defeat not yet over
In the short term, the game against the Peruvians is now coming up. With a win we would go into the second round in September. Should the German team achieve another success there, they would already be in the final round in Bologna.
Last November, the German team narrowly failed in the semifinals against Spain (1:2), a defeat that still bothers Kohlmann. “It’s still working in us, we were very close. That was a great opportunity,” said the national coach. “We’re coming to celebrate success. But first we have to get there and win against Peru,” said Kohlmann.
Our sources
- WDR interview Michael Kohlmann
- Press conference German Tennis Association (DTB)
Broadcast: WDR.de, “Michael Kohlmann – “Bologna is the big goal”, February 4th, 2026, 3:42 p.m
