In a move that "could shake up one of the sport's biggest events," the Int'l Tennis Federation's board of directors "approved a plan to stage the final phases of the Davis Cup men's team competition and the Fed Cup women's team competition together the next three years," according to Christopher Clarey of the N.Y. TIMES. The board also approved the first site for the new, combined annual event: Geneva, Switzerland, "which was selected from a list of six finalists that included Turin, Italy; Wuhan, China; Miami; Istanbul; and Copenhagen." The combined finals "would be staged indoors at an arena in the Palexpo exhibition center," which has a capacity of about 18,000, in '18, '19 and '20. ITF President David Haggerty said, "I look at this as the transformation of Davis Cup and Fed Cup with one of the most significant reforms in tennis for many years. I think what we are doing is taking these two events and creating the World Cup of tennis." The decision comes at a "tense and pivotal moment," with the ATP Tour "considering a new men's team competition of its own, which could create competing events" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/28).
In London, Kevin Mitchell reported the rebranding of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup finals as a combined World Cup of Tennis in Geneva from November next year is a "gamble born of necessity and will either recapture the magic of the struggling competitions or pitch them back into confusion." Haggerty knew when he took office in Sept. '15 that his "over-riding challenge was to persuade leading players they can fit in their commitment around an already hectic schedule on the regular Tour." Much of the same applies to the Women's Tennis Association, "although the best players seem more willing to take part in the Fed Cup." The wording of the ITF's release on Wednesday had the "simultaneous ring of relief at a tough decision finally made and crossed-fingers optimism that disturbing more than a century of tradition will not backfire" (
GUARDIAN, 6/28). The PA's Eleanor Crooks reported the ITF argued a fixed final would "maximise commercial and media interest while removing the current difficulties governing bodies experience in trying to find a suitable venue at short notice." The extra revenue would be put toward "increased prize money, player participation incentives and worldwide tennis development" (
PA, 6/28). The BBC reported the plans have been "greeted with dismay by some tennis players," including Jamie Murray's Brazilian doubles partner Bruno Soares and Australian Sam Groth. Soares tweeted that the "ITF itself is slowly killing the competition," while Groth said that the ITF "had lost the plot" (
BBC, 6/28).
