Controversial proposals to revamp the Davis Cup and turn it into a season-ending 18-team event have been "backed by national tennis federations," according to the BBC. A two-thirds majority among the 140 nations was needed at the Int'l Tennis Federation's annual general meeting. The 25-year, £2.15B ($2.7B) plan -- funded by an investment group led by Barcelona's Gerard Piqué -- will start in '19. ITF CEO David Haggerty said that the decision would elevate the Davis Cup "to new standards." The Lawn Tennis Association opposed the proposals, saying that it was "concerned about scheduling, financing and the division between member nations." The reformed event would see matches played over the best of three sets, "culminating in a World Cup-style tournament to determine the world champions." Twenty-four teams would compete in home and away ties in February, with 12 winning teams advancing to the finals in November. Piqué founded and leads the investment group Kosmos, which is backed by Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani. American billionaire Larry Ellison, who runs the Indian Wells tournament, said that he will also invest. Haggerty: "The new revenues for nations that the event will generate will have a transformative effect on the development of tennis in all nations." The LTA said that it consulted "widely" before deciding it could not support the proposals "as they stand." German Tennis Federation (DTB) President Ulrich Klaus said that the decision was a "bitter pill to swallow." He added, "Sadly, the discussion in the last few days was mainly about money and not about the sport" (BBC, 8/16).
'NEARLY UNRECOGNIZABLE': In N.Y., Ben Rothenberg reported the changes received 71% of the votes. While nearly every tennis stakeholder believes that the 118-year-old Davis Cup "needs to evolve," this vote offered a chance for a "wholesale restart," creating a format "nearly unrecognizable from the current one." Grand Slam federations "were split" on the vote: France and the U.S. voted for it, while Australia and Britain voted against it. Many countries did not make their final decisions "until the days and even hours before Thursday's vote." The LTA announced its opposition to the measure on Wednesday. That decision "marked a split" from the All England Club, the host of Wimbledon, which "voiced support for it." The vote, like all debates and presentations before it, was held in secret (N.Y. TIMES, 8/16).
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: In Sydney, Courtney Walsh reported a rally led by Australia "failed to win enough support at a vote in Florida." The new event will be known as the World Cup of Tennis Finals playing off for the Davis Cup. Fans who want to support their nation "will have to travel to Madrid for the first two years," before venturing to California in '21. The destinations for the event "coincide with the financial backing for the event," with Piqué and Ellison investing in a 25-year deal. But there is "still much to learn about the new concept given the lack of transparency and detail made public." Australian former players including Lleyton Hewitt, Neale Fraser, John Newcombe and Rod Laver had spoken out against the proposal, "lamenting it would kill off the Davis Cup." Todd Woodbridge, a "dual-winner for Australia," was "aghast" when Piqué was allowed to address the congress prior to the vote while those who had participated and played "were not availed the opportunity" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/17).
A STEP TOO FAR?: In London, Stuart Fraser wrote this "ludicrous prospect has now become reality." One day after the ATP signed and sealed its contract with Tennis Australia to host a World Team Cup, starting on December 27, 2019, the ITF received approval from its member nations to "reform the Davis Cup." Politics in tennis "has never been simple due to the alphabet soup of governing bodies, but this has been one of the most divisive periods that the sport has experienced in recent years." The reforms that were approved "have gone too far." The "timing of the finals is dreadful." They will "immediately follow the ATP World Tour Finals in London, further extending the season for players whose bodies have already taken a battering due to the gruelling rigours of the tour" (LONDON TIMES, 8/16).
