After four years in anonymity, the Davis Cup returns to the hands of the International Federation.
“A victory”. For many tennis players and observers, the broken contract between Kosmos (Gerard Pique’s group) and the Davis Cup is a real breath of fresh air, ending four years of ordeal for spectators. Since the group took power, several formats have been put in place, without success, plunging the competition into complete anonymity.
In a rather strange press release, Dave Haggerty, the president of the ITF, “welcomes the tremendous success of the event for four years” (more money for the nations, for the players, more participation of the best, interest croissant for fans, etc.)… before writing that the contract with Kosmos is broken. No specific reason was mentioned as indicated by the FFT to The Team. But for a close source, “Kosmos got fired because, as many pundits predicted four years ago, they lost a lot of money and weren’t able to pay what they had. promised”.
What formula for the Davis Cup 2023?
For the time being, the formula decided with Kosmos with in particular a final phase, in Malaga (November 21-26), would remain as it is for this year 2023.
What future for the Davis Cup?
I believe that the Grand Slams must position themselves on the Davis Cup. We are working to unite the four Grand Slams, which are the pillars of the game, and the Davis Cup is part of our heritage. Afterwards, the format is another story … We will all get together and think about the future of the competition “explained the president of the FFT Gilles Morreton. Still according to L’Equipe, a group stage spread out over two years with pools of four, home and away matches in round trip format (three matches in year 1, three matches in year 2); then a final phase in the third year would be under study. In an Olympic year, no Davis Cup but an Olympic team tournament.