Pique leads £2bn deal to revamp Davis Cup
The world’s top male tennis stars will play for prize- money of $20million in one week as part of a revamp of the Davis Cup, backed by investors led by Barcelona football superstar Gerard Pique.
The Spain defender and his backers have joined with global governing body the International Tennis Federation to commit $3billion (£2.15bn) over 25 years that will see a huge shake-up in the 118year-old competition.
It is understood Pique presented to the ITF board last Saturday morning, hours before turning out for the Catalan giants in their 6-1 thrashing of Girona.
Sportsmail first revealed the involvement of tennis fanatic Pique last May, when his Kosmos investment group held talks with the ATP Tour, which represents the players and tournaments.
Starting next year, 18 nations will compete at a neutral venue in late November, just after the ATP Finals in London.
The amount of space required for such a big event means it will surely have to be held outdoors. That, combined with the need for some serious sponsors, suggests that it will be staged somewhere in Asia or, less likely, the Middle east.
Some of the magic of the competition is sure to disappear with the abolition of the home and away element. however, in recent years an increasingly congested calendar — and the growing amount of injuries — has seen the participation of the world’s leading men become less consistent.
That, and the promise of a financial bounty for national federations, has led the ITF Board to recommend this upheaval, although it needs to be passed at the body’s annual general meeting in August.
As it stands, Britain would make the field, although Leon Smith’s team face a relegation play-off in September which could see them miss out on a place in the inaugural event, unless granted one of two available wildcards.
Smith gave it a cautious welcome, but said: ‘Of course one of the first things to come to mind is the loss of home and away ties.’
The lower-tier zonal groups will continue as before, but for the top nations the competition will condense into one week, with six groups of three. Teams will play three best- of-three- set matches, including one doubles, to produce six quarter-finalists, plus the best two runners-up.
Pique said: ‘Together we can elevate the Davis Cup to new heights by putting on a must- see World Cup of Tennis Finals featuring the top nations and top players.’