Grand Slam Board says safeguarding Davis Cup is a precedence

All 4 tennis Grand Slams will make it a precedence to safeguard the Davis Cup males’s group match, the governing physique of the game’s most prestigious occasions mentioned on Friday, two weeks after the ITF’s partnership with funding group Kosmos ended.

The International Tennis Federation mentioned on Jan. 12 that its partnership with former Barcelona soccer participant Gerard Pique’s Kosmos was ending 5 years right into a 25-year, $3 billion settlement.

That deal was unveiled in 2018 amid a lot fanfare over guarantees to ship “long-term benefits” for followers and all stakeholders of the sport.

The ITF, the game’s governing physique, added that it had monetary contingencies in place and would function the 2023 Davis Cup qualifiers and finals as scheduled, with the Final 8 happening in Malaga, Spain, in November.

“Protecting the heritage of the sport and safeguarding major teams competitions such as the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup is a priority for the global tennis community and will appropriately get the Grand Slams’ full attention,” the Grand Slam board mentioned in an announcement.

They board added that the Grand Slam tournaments have been united of their help for the Davis Cup “recognising its historical significance and important role in growing engagement in our sport around the world.”

“We believe there is an opportunity to engage in further discussions with the ITF and ATP regarding the future of the Davis Cup competition with the ambition of seeing it restored to a premier event with an optimal format and place in the calendar that benefits players, fans and the sport overall.”

The settlement with Kosmos had led to the revamp of the lads’s group competitors, which was based in 1900.

The typical home-and-away ties performed over a couple of weekends through the course of the yr have been scrapped.

That format was changed in 2019 with only one home-and-away spherical of ties that was adopted by 18-teams competing in a single metropolis for a week-long climax to the season.

After the 2020 version was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 finale was held throughout 11 days in three cities — Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck.

The format was tweaked once more final yr, when groups competed in a gaggle stage in September, with the highest eight reaching the finals.