ITF discusses return of Hopman Cup and rule changes

David Haggerty, presidente de la International Tennis Federation (ITF), gave an interesting interview in which he talked about what the future of the circuit can be like for the next few years: Hopman Cup, the relationship with the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), changes in the regulations and the fate of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. All the detail.

In dialogue with Around the Rings, one of the central themes he spoke about was the return of the Hopman Cup, the championship that ran from 1989 to 2019 at the beginning of each year and whose particularity was the integration of male and female tennis players in mixed doubles.

“We want this tournament to return because we love to see men and women compete together in a single event. It is something that is going to be part of the calendar again, we are working with several companies and we are very close to being able to make an official announcement. They exist. different options, but most likely it will be played in Europe. In the next two weeks we will communicate our decision, “revealed the American.

In turn, he added that in the last edition there was Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who had never faced each other, and as a result of this they achieved fill the stadium with 23,000 people.

Regarding the possible change of some rules, Haggerty explained: “We are experimenting with playing without letting in junior tournaments, speeds up the game. We also have the possibility of play with one serveAlthough I don’t think we’re ready for that yet. “

Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, he announced the possibility of the tennis competition extending two days, that is, it would go from being played in 9 to 11 days. “This would allow us to play the entire competition and would ensure players an extra break. Almost everyone wants to play both singles and doubles, many even want to sign up for mixed doubles, “he said.

Even this is related to the varied complaints that there were on the part of the tennis players in Tokyo, that they had to play with high temperatures. Had he had a greater number of days, it would not have been necessary to compress shifts during the first few days, Haggerty suggested.

He also reaffirmed that from the ITF they seek to have a good relationship with the players and also with the tournaments. “We have a great relationship with Djokovic, we work hand in hand with ATP and WTA“, he concluded.