Davis Cup to keep current setup with group ties followed by eight-nation Finals

The Davis Cup is poised to keep its current setup, with both the ITF and Kosmos having expressed satisfaction with this season's event.

"It works for the fans, it works for the players, and it certainly works for tennis. We think that that's great," said ITF president David Haggerty, speaking to press during Davis Cup Finals.

The week finished with Canada, which defeated Australia in the final, winning its first Davis Cup.

The team competition has gone through several changes since Kosmos successfully bid for the rights to organize the Davis Cup. It moved from its traditional structure—best-of-five, five-point home-and-away ties played during four weeks across the season—to a compressed version in 2019, consisting of a Finals week with best-of-three three-point ties played in round-robin groups played in November, played in one location—on this occasion, Madrid, Spain.

In 2021, it moved to a single elimination contest from the quarterfinals on, with ties played in four cities and the final again in Madrid. This year, there was a round-robin group competition in September, with the winners qualifying for the single-elimination Finals week in Malaga, Spain.

The changes were "a bit confusing for the players, and we listened to them, and that's why we have made the changes that we have," added Haggerty.

The revamp has received mixed reactions. Asked whether organizers will consider more changes, both Haggerty and Kosmos CEO Enric Rojas indicated they want to stick with the current version.

"We feel the most important thing is to stabilize. The players like this," said Haggerty. "They have told us that. They like the two singles and the one doubles. It works at the time of the seasons that we play."

The ITF has also struck a co-operation with the ATP around the competition, with Davis Cup now officially having three weeks in the ATP schedule. The ATP had also started a rival men's team competition, the ATP Cup, which it has now shelved.

"There is not too much room for changing that. We don't want to change it, actually," said Rojas.

According to Rojas, there were more than 112,000 spectators at the group ties played in and another 63,000 spectators during the weeks of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, for a total attendance of around 175,000 spectators. That is up from 105,000 spectators for the 2021 Davis Cup Finals.

The players like this. They have told us that. They like the two singles and the one doubles. —David Haggerty

Around 21 percent of the crowds had come from locations other than Spain, though no further breakdown was provided.

Next year's Finals will again be played in Malaga, with Italy and Spain hosting two of the group ties as wild cards. Another group tie would be played in Great Britain if it wins its qualifier, said Rojas, with a fourth location to be decided.

The competition was due to be moved to Abu Dhabi, according to the Telegraph but fell through, apparently with players concerned about the distance from the European indoor events.

L'Equipe this week said Malaga offered 10 million Euros for the Finals, and the German and French federations were also approached about holding the competition. The French newspaper included that the French federation was asked to relocate the Paris Masters for two years, which was refused.

The winners of the round-robin group competition will qualify for the Davis Cup Finals.