FC Barcelona player recommended a series of changes in the organization of the tennis tournament

Kosmos Group, owned by Gerard Pique, with the support of the electronics company Rakuten, have shaken the tennis world. This group plans to invest 3,000 million dollars to create a "tennis world cup", which it is expected to raise emotions as well as income.

The company Kosmos plans to eliminate the usual format of the Davis Cup. Traditionally, the tennis tournament divides the teams IGNORE INTO several zonal groups (depending on the region) and a world group (the most important selections) that grants the titles.

The 16 teams play a World Group playoff tournament throughout the year. Each of the phases has five games -4 singles matches and 1 doubles-. The eight teams that lose in the first round will play one game with each the "regional champions". In this way, the next 16 teams are defined for the next year.

What is the new proposal?

The suggestion of the company of the soccer player proposes to eliminate this formula for 2019. It plans the games to be played in 1 single week and place with 18. First, the tournament would be played in all against all format and then it would go to direct eliminations. In addition, the matches would be two singles and one doubles. The games would be played with only three sets, which would reduce the times.

Normally, the distance between matches (played from February, July, September and November) and the time difference between each of these (matches take place in in Oceania, Asia, Europe, and America) have taken prominence and interest to the tournament. Furthermore, the tight schedule of ATP tournaments has conditioned that several important players prefer to rest or prepare for other tournaments than to compete for their country

For now, these changes have the support of the board of the ITF. However, this is a proposal and it lacks that two thirds of the Assembly of the International Tennis Federation approve the initiative, next August in Orlando Florida.

Background

Proposals to improve or change the Davis Cup are not new. Previously, the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal had suggested that the tournament should take place 1 time every 2 years.

For his part, David Haggerty, president of the International Tennis Federation, said for various media that these new proposals will not change the essence of the tournament. According to Haggerty, the new look for the Cup is to make it more attractive and to have better benefits for players.

The US leader said that the changes proposed by Piqué have good acceptance among professional tennis players, as the soccer player has met with several athletes colleagues. For example, he has met with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and they have given him their support.

Despite all the support, there are conservative voices that have declared more cautious about the proposal. Miguel Diaz, president of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, told the magazine AS that "federations are divided and I think the vote in summer will be adjusted". Diaz says that if the new format ends up benefiting professional players with prizes, this would also benefit federations.

It has not yet been discussed what would be the possible venue of this new tournament; although, it is speculated that it will be Asian, due to Rakuten's money. Nor has the type of surface been discussed, but it is estimated that it will be a hard one, due to the tennis schedule. Finally, there is no final decision on which ball will be used.
 

Latin American Post | Santiago Gómez Hernández
Translated from “Así será la Copa Davis según Gerard Piqué”