The ITF have announced new rules to Davis and Fed Cup competitions, so is this a sad day for tennis?
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon the ITF have announced new rules and shorter formats that could have controversial implications on the way Davis Cup and Fed Cup is played. In a statement they announced the following amendments:
- All singles matches in Davis Cup will be played as best-of-three sets, rather than best-of five sets. Davis Cup will retain its three-day format, with doubles sticking to the best-of-five set format.
- The finalists in both Davis Cup and Fed Cup will be guaranteed the choice of hosting their first round tie in the following year.
- Hosting Costs for national associations will be reduced.
- The dead rubber policy will be amended to reduce the number of dead rubbers.
The ITF addressing the wrong problems?
The problem with the latest format changes is that they have addressed the wrong problems here. The idea for a shorter Davis Cup format is to attract more big players such as the ‘Big Four’ to play Davis Cup more often. However is this really the changes acquired to attract the star players? Surely if they wanted to attract the star players, they would announce that Davis Cup would run every two years? This would allow the big players to play Davis Cup more often as they would know that it would occur every second year and that would lead to a less brutal schedule. So you have to feel that the ITF have rushed into an unnecessary decision here.
Bad Reaction?
Here are some reactions to the news that was released by the ITF:
By the way, it's a dumb decision by ITF. If they want to kill the Davis Cup,that's how they should do. 5sets is charming. It makes the drama
— Charline (@CharLaborde) June 6, 2017
I actually hate the idea of the Davis Cup being best of 3. Takes away the drama & what makes it so special.
— Sinéad
(@Is_Mise_Sinead) June 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/Rosal7777/status/872112547884937217
It’s obvious that fans are frustrated of the latest reforms. These amendments will be discussed and confirmed at an AGM meeting on the 8th of August. If they were to go ahead with this it would be a sad day for tennis as the sport is moving into a negative direction.
