ITF gambles with World Cup of Tennis rebrand of Davis Cup and Fed Cup

The rebranding of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup finals as a combined World Cup of Tennis in Geneva from November next year is a gamble born of necessity and will either recapture the magic of the struggling competitions or pitch them back into confusion.

The International Tennis Federation president, David Haggerty, knew on taking up office in September 2015 that his over-riding challenge was to persuade leading players they can fit in their commitment around an already hectic schedule on the regular Tour. It could be more than symbolic that he and his committee have settled on Roger Federer’s homeland as the first venue for the daring experiment.

Much the same applies to the Women’s Tennis Association, although the best players seem more willing to take part in the Fed Cup.

Both competitions have a complicated structure that is difficult for all but the most dedicated fans to follow. Matches have to be squeezed in around the four grand slams as well as the other major tournaments that run from January to November.

The wording of the ITF’s release on Wednesday had the simultaneous ring of relief at a tough decision finally made and crossed-fingers optimism that disturbing more than a century of tradition will not backfire.

“The finals are the centre-piece of a series of historic reforms that will transform Davis Cup and Fed Cup, the largest annual team competitions in sport,” the statement announced. “The ITF AGM will be asked to approve the full reform package at its meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in August.”

The new event will run for three years on hard court at Palexpo, an 18,000-seat venue where more than 10 Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties have been staged. The other cities on the shortlist were Copenhagen, Istanbul, Miami, Turin and Wuhan.

“All six cities submitted world-class bids,” the ITF said, “reflecting the consensus in the market that combined finals would be more attractive for fans, sponsors and broadcasters. More than 20 cities expressed interest in hosting the new season-ending event.”

The Fed Cup semi-finals might also be included in the festival, which would allow the world group to expand from eight to 16 teams. The home-and-away format will continue for other rounds of both competitions.

Haggerty said: “The creation of the World Cup of Tennis finals is at the heart of a series of reforms that represent the most significant changes in the history of Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. Change is needed to ensure that we maximise the full potential of these iconic and historic competitions. We’ve consulted widely and listened carefully, and believe we will deliver an exceptional new event for fans, players and nations.

“By providing Geneva with a full year to organise and promote the event, it will be able to fully maximise the competition’s potential, elevating venue and hosting standards to a consistent grand slam level and delivering the very best athlete and fan experience.”

Bruno Soares, Jamie Murray’s Brazilian double partner, was among the first to respond to the news, and did not view the changes favourably. He tweeted: “Very tough for players to get back on Davis Cup mode when ITF itself is slowly killing the competition. #badchanges #daviscup”