Unexpected news in tennis. Gerard Piqué, former soccer player and president of the investment group Kosmos, will stop organizing the Davis cup. This, after not reaching an economic agreement, after five years of contractual relationship.
Thus, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) will once again have control of the organization of the international tennis competition, according to a statement from the entity itself sent to AFP.
“The ITF confirms that its agreement with Kosmos Tennis for the Davis cup ends in its fifth year. The ITF has ensured that financial contingencies are covered and, as custodians of the competition, we will organize the 2023 qualifiers and finals as planned, with the eight-team finals being hosted in Malaga, in Spain, in the month of November,” the ITF wrote, according to the news agency.
In 2017, Gerard Piqué founded, together with a Rakuten leader, the investment company Kosmos. The group’s first coup was to take over the shops of the mythical Davis cup.
controversial format
In 2019, already with Gerard Piqué’s company as organizer, the Davis cup It changed its format and abandoned the formula of different duels throughout the year with one team at home and another as a visitor. With best-of-five-set matches spread over a weekend, the competition failed to fully connect with the new audience it was after and did not attract several important players.
At first, a final phase was created in the same city, to be played for a week. In successive editions, changes were introduced and created, for example, a first knockout round, then a group phase in four cities and finally the final phase (quarterfinals, semifinals and final), the latter in the same city, which in 2022 was Malaga and which It will be so again in 2023. The two previous final phases had been played in Madrid.
yes, so much Gerard Piqué like Kosmos they will continue in the world of tennis, since they represent different players. Among them, well-known and well-known tennis players such as Elina Svitolina, Andrey Rublev or Daria Kasatkina.
reactions
Some time ago, the tennis player Lleyton Hewitt questioned the format. “I have always thought that this is a misconception, but nobody listens,” the Australian protested in the last Malaga Finals, in 2022.
After knowing the news of the separation between Kosmos, by Gerard Piqué, and the Davis cupreactions began to arrive in the world of tennis.
“I have always fought against this new format of the Davis cup, an institution in our sport. It is a great victory for tennis,” wrote the president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton, in a message broadcast to various media.
