Team USA’s 2026 Davis Cup campaign was the spitting image of last year. Ben Shelton’s side’s 3-2 loss against Czechia in Prague carried not just the same result, but the same taste of disappointment for the Americans, and tennis Insider Ben Rothenberg didn’t spare them from the criticism.

“Lehecka beats Tien 6-3, 7-5 to clinch the tie for the Czechs,” he wrote on X. “Tough draw for the Americans, sure, but it’s also undoubtedly disappointing that a country with *six* guys in the Top 20 right now hasn’t come closer to bringing one of these things home one of these years.”

Rothenberg, who is one of the most prominent voices in the tennis community, seemed to be extremely disappointed with the team’s performance, just like their fans. The team was the favorite to defeat the Czechs as they had one of the most formidable lineups on paper. But the underdogs proved to be too good on the day and handed a painful defeat to Shelton & Co.

Team USA’s lineup for the clash included Shelton, Learner Tien, Martin Damm, Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek. They had a strong start to the tie as Tien defeated Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-4 in the first round. But the Czechs came roaring back as Lehecka handed Shelton a 6-4, 6-4 defeat.

With this, the match was level at 1-1. But the US managed to take the lead once again as the pairing of Harrison and Krajicek defeated Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Rikl 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. The Americans clearly had the momentum heading into the fourth round and needed just one more win to clinch the tie. Knowing that the victory was near, Shelton stepped up to take on Mensik in the next match. But things didn’t turn out as the team would have expected.

Though Shelton won the first set, Mensik refused to go down easily and levelled the match by taking the second. He outplayed the World No. 4 in the decider to win the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. This result levelled the tie at 2-2 and forced the match to a decider.

The final match saw Tien take on Lehecka. With both players having won their previous matches in the tie, it was expected to be an evenly contested affair. But Lehecka proved to be the better player and finished off the match in straight sets. He won 6-3, 7-5 after an hour and 41 minutes as the Czechs racked up a famous 3-2 victory in front of their home crowd.

Team USA was gutted by the defeat. The result was especially dejecting for Shelton, who arrived at the match after recently losing the US Open final to Alexander Zverev. When asked which of the defeats was more painful, Shelton didn’t have a clear answer.

Ben Shelton & Co. reflect on the defeat to Czechia at the Davis Cup

After the loss, the American side couldn’t help but feel a sense of defeat. However, they still tried to cope with the loss by remembering some fun moments from their outing.

“I don’t know which loss hurts the most, they’re all hard to swallow,” Shelton said in the post-match press conference. Team captain Bob Bryan tried to cheer him up with a little joke: “At the US Open, you made more money!”

While the defeat was a hard one to take for Bryan as well, he still backed all the players and also heaped praise on the Czechs for their superb performance.

“We’re obviously disappointed with the result, but super proud of the guys. It was a fun atmosphere. That kind of felt like what Davis Cup should be all about, atmosphere like that. Loud, but fair. Doubles guys got it done in one of the best Davis Cup doubles matches I’ve seen in recent years. So that was cool to get that over the top, but you gotta tip your cap to Mensik and Lehecka for how they played today,” he stated.

Notably, the US is the most successful team in the history of Davis Cup with 32 titles under their name. However, their last title came in 2007. While the country has produced numerous brilliant talents in the last few years, they just haven’t been at their best in the Davis Cup. It remains to be seen whether their title drought will come to an end anytime soon.