ATP announces new ATP Cup team event to mixed reviews

The ATP officially announced the creation of a new team competition, similar to the Davis Cup, called the ATP Cup. The tournament is a recreation of the old ATP World Team Cup, which ended in 2012 after 35 years.

The tournament with 24 teams of up to five players will face off in January 2020, but with the Davis Cup being held in November, starting in 2019, the calendar will jammed with two major team events in the span of six weeks. Players have called the ATP calendar saturated and overcrowded, specifically Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.

"Obviously the Davis Cup and World Team Cup situation is delicate," Djokovic said in London. "I think in the next two years we'll have both events happening in a very similar format if not the same, six weeks apart. Whether I think that's good for our sport, I honestly don't think it's good for the sport.

"From what I've heard from conversations with people from all of the sides, different sides in this sport, they all want to have one event because it's over-saturated with different cups, different events."

In a video promoting the ATP Cup, Djokovic called the event the "best way to kickstart the season."

Zverev, John Isner, Alex de Minaur, Kei Nishikori, Karen Khachanov, Roger Federer, Jamie Murray, Kyle Edmund, Taylor Fritz, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Frances Tiafoe, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Marin Cilic all appeared in the video too, in support of the ATP Cup.

The ATP Cup is not mandatory, but will award 750 ranking points and a total of $15 million in prize money. Zverev said he will not play in the new Davis Cup next November, but was more positive about the ATP Cup.

"The Davis Cup has some serious issues to think about, I think. One of them is the dates," Zverev said. "The World Cup, I don't know much about it yet... Obviously, it's in the first week of the year, so it makes sense to play, and it's in Australia as well. So it's not bad schedule-wise."

The 21-year-old gained some traction for calling the season too long after his one-sided loss to Djokovic in London.

“The issue is that our season is way too long. That’s the issue. But I’ve said it before,” Zverev said. “We play for 11 months a year. That’s ridiculous. No other professional sport does that.”

The ATP also recently announced more change with a new logo for 2019.

With the ATP Cup taking place in the first week of the year, other events will be shuffled in 2020.

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