All 4 tennis grand slams will make it a precedence to safeguard the Davis Cup males’s group event.
The governing physique of the game’s most prestigious occasions made the promise on Friday, two weeks after the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) partnership with funding group Kosmos ended.
The ITF stated earlier this month that its partnership with former Barcelona soccer participant Gerard Pique’s Kosmos was ending 5 years right into a 25-year, $US3 billion ($A4.2 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 it had monetary contingencies in place and would function the 2023 Davis Cup qualifiers and finals as scheduled, with the finals week once more going down 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 stated in an announcement on Friday.
The board added the 4 tournaments had 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 ITF welcomed the assertion and stated it was trying ahead to “leading further positive conversations” with the Grand Slam Board and the ATP within the build-up to this yr’s Davis Cup.
The settlement with Kosmos had led to the revamp of the lads’s group competitors, which was based in 1900.
The ordinary home-and-away ties performed over just a few weekends throughout the course of the yr had been scrapped.
That format was changed in 2019 with only one home-and-away spherical of ties that was adopted by 18 groups 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 bunch stage in September, with the highest eight, together with eventual runners-up Australia, reaching the finals.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
