Davis Cup: what's next in the coming year?
There are currently many rumors surrounding the future of the Davis Cup. It is still completely unclear how things will continue in the coming year.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Dec 02, 2021, 08:35 pm
During these days in Madrid the Davis Cup trophy is being fought for, behind the scenes the future of the oldest team competition in tennis will also be clarified. At the moment, however, there seems to be some uncertainty among those in charge of the ITF and Kosmos: On Thursday, a press conference scheduled for Sunday was canceled for reasons that were not explained in more detail.
Originally, the deal with Abu Dhabi should have been announced at this media meeting. As several media reported last week, the ITF and Kosmos want the final tournament to take place in the United Arab Emirates for five consecutive years and turn it into a two-week event.
The group stage should take place in several European cities before it goes to Abu Dhabi for the decisive phase. According to reports, it was precisely this point that became fatal for the organizers. "As far as I have heard, this (the cancellation of the press conference, note) has less to do with the fact that Abu Dhabi is unacceptable as a location than with the logistics of flying from Europe to the Middle East during the fortnightly finals" reported the usually well-informed journalist Simon Briggs.
Shortly before the end of this year's Davis Cup finals, it is still completely unclear how things will continue in the coming year. Rumor has it that the group stage could take place as early as September. A plan that Roger Federer and the organizers of the Laver Cup probably do not meet with too much approval.