Tennis Forum banner

Davis Cup aims to add women's event to men's Finals event

1K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  nemala 
#1 ·
Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/50513604

One "massive" team event, featuring both men and women, is the long-term goal as the new look Davis Cup Finals conclude in Madrid this weekend.
Kosmos is investing $80m (£63m) a year into the competition, which includes $20m in prize money and a $44m licence fee to the ITF.

An additional $45m a year has been earmarked to develop other formats, such as a mixed team competition and a winner takes all event.

"A winner takes all with a big pot of prize money [with a working title of the Majesty Cup], that's something that's under discussion," Fairweather added.

"We've just had expressions of interest from almost 10 cities that are keen to put on the Hopman Cup [the mixed team event traditionally staged in Australia in January - before the introduction of the ATP Cup]."

"Gerard [Pique] really wants to be innovative, he wants to really provide an incentive for the players to come and do something different, which is not week in week out on tour events.
Pique is trying to do all sorts of things at the moment :rolleyes:

We already know that Hopman Cup is set to return in 2021, so is this mixed competition different from the Hopman Cup? Are they going to have both competitions? :confused:
 
#4 ·
could pique please leave tennis alone and go and ruin football instead.

i think he must have a massive ego. i am also a traditionalist, ( a dinosaur)
 
#5 ·
Davis Cup mixed dubs coming? I'm for it. It does change the winning chances of some teams but not all — countries where both the men and women are at the top will have an added advantage over the rest.



What I don't get: isn't the Hopman Cup (a mixed dubs event they are going to revive) already part of the ITF family of events? If the Davis Cup is going to include mixed dubs then there will be two separate ITF mixed events?
 
#12 ·
At this point there are already too many events for the top players to play and they want more, more, more........

:SNE:


Just generally, I think Davis Cup has been ruined, by standing the whole format on it's head.
I bet Djokovic is pissed and rightfully so.
First Quarterfinal in the new format, 3rd match, Doubles, 3rd set tiebreak, flip of the coin 10-8, over and done.
Really an insult for the way Davis Cup had been conducted from it's inception some 90 years ago.
 
#7 ·
Between Bianca, Shapo, FAA and even a resurgent Pospisil, Canaduh would kill this event.

:rocker2:
 
#8 ·
I really don't mind this change, although in part that's because I don't really stan one national team.

I do think a more comprehensive series of qualifying tournaments with home-and-away would be better for preserving some of the legacy.

But Pique is catching onto one thing re: team events, and that's the big gap existing (created?) by virtue of the ATP Cup displacing the Hopman Cup, and the simultaneous general dissatisfaction with the mid-year Fed Cup finals. If his event becomes a dual-gender event, Laver Cup and ATP Cup will look like dinosaurs. Combined events, in virtually every situation, do better than single gender events.

What I find genuinely hilarious is that Tennis Australia has pumped money and energy into two events (Laver Cup, ATP Cup) in which they are a bit player. Meanwhile, they have a 23-year old elite singles and doubles player who will never again get a chance to represent her country, in her country, in a national competition, in spite of the country hosting the world's only mixed doubles team competition until....the year she emerges as a top 10 player.

Tennis Australia is truly the most incompetent of the federations. And that's in spite of the USTA trying its best to displace them.
 
#9 ·
I think an enhanced Hopman Cup over a 10-14 day period, in a convenient place in the calendar, sounds absolutely fantastic.

16 nations of 6 players (3 M, 3 W) across 4 groups, featuring most of the top 25-30 of both organisations, would have the potential to be the obvious stand out event on the tennis calendar, outside of the slams.

I'd be fully on board.
 
#11 ·
A problem with that depth requirement is that there are a number of countries with huge discrepancy in the quality of player from one gender to another. Argentina has three top 50 ATP players (none of which are del Potro) but only three top 500 WTA players, none of which are even in the top 250. Greece would field a decent #1 WTA and #1 ATP team, but the talent falls off a cliff after that.

I think preserving the separate Davis, Fed, and Hopman Cups as separate titles would be fine. At the Olympics, it's a men's team title and a women's team title in things like gymnastics. End the event with three different 'champions'.
 
#14 ·
Hopman Cup was on its last days before Federer showed up. They even had two Australian teams a few years ago and most mixed doubles matches usually end with up with an unknown alternate as the eliminated star player can't be bothered to play one last match. :spit: It's a meaningless exhibition.

Laver Cup has the September date locked up so far but what will happen when Federer retire and his power lessens? If the players want the Davis Cup in September, it may be moved to a better date than it is scheduled right now.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top