The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced the Swiss city had beaten off competition from five rivals to host the event, which is part of the governing body's reform package for the events.

The proposed reforms still require approval at the ITF's Annual General Meeting, due to be held in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in August.

Geneva will host the event for the next three years from November 2018 should the plans be approved.

The World Cup of Tennis finals would be held on the hard court at the Palexpo, a venue which has a capacity of 18,000 and has staged over ten Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties.

Copenhagen, Istanbul, Miami, Turin and Wuhan in China also submitted a bid to host the event.

They were chosen from a shortlist of 20 cities which initially expressed interest in playing host to the historic event, the ITF said.

"The Board will receive feedback from the Davis Cup and Fed Cup Committees on the potential format of the event that could also include the Fed Cup semi-finals in a move that would allow the Fed Cup World Group to expand from eight to 16 teams," the ITF said.

"The traditional home-and-away format will continue for all other rounds of Davis Cup and Fed Cup."

The changes have not been universally popular, however, and have been met with opposition by some players.

Australia's Sam Groth, the current world number 187, said the ITF had "lost the plot", while Brazilian doubles specialist Bruno Soares accused the governing body of "killing the competition". 

Geneva was selected at a meeting of the ITF's Board in Frankfurt.

Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals are currently hosted by one of the teams participating with little notice.

"The creation of the World Cup of Tennis finals is at the heart of a series of reforms that represent the most significant changes in the history of Davis Cup and Fed Cup," ITF President David Haggerty said. 

"Change is needed to ensure that we maximise the full potential of these iconic and historic competitions. 

"We’ve consulted widely and listened carefully, and believe we will deliver an exceptional new event for fans, players and nations.

"By providing Geneva with a full year to organise and promote the event, it will be able to fully maximise the competition’s potential, elevating venue and hosting standards to a consistent Grand Slam level and delivering the very best athlete and fan experience.

"All six cities were highly capable and presented outstanding bids, and each would have been an excellent choice. In the end, the Board felt that Geneva offered the best conditions for hosting this exciting and innovative new event, and will deliver a truly world-class event."

The proposed reforms to the two competitions also include playing Davis Cup matches as best-of-three sets rather than the current best-of-five format.