MÁLAGA, Spain – Marrying “tradition” and “innovation”: in the wake of the 2024 edition of the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup, this is the challenge still facing the International Tennis Federation (ITF ), organizer of the two historic competitions whose format will further evolve in 2025.
The 2024 edition of the “Tennis World Cup”, as the ITF calls it, was exceptional in several respects.
For the first time, the final phase of the two competitions was held in the same city, in Málaga (Spain), and on almost the same dates: from November 14 to 20 for the BJK Cup (formerly the Fed Cup, which would initially have had to be played in Seville) and from 19 to 24 for the Davis Cup.
Above all, the men’s competition was marked by the farewell of the legend Rafael Nadal, after 23 years of professional career.
Enough to generate a “fantastic turnout” in the Davis Cup, with 65,000 spectators over the six days of competition, compared to 60,000 in 2023, according to ITF president David Haggerty.
Despite the early elimination of the host country and its stars (world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal), the stands of the Palais des Sports remained rather well stocked, stormed in particular by the Italian spectators who came to cheer their idol Jannik Sinner (1st in the ATP ranking).
The situation is more mixed for the BJK Cup, whose attendance figures have not been communicated.
BJK Cup seeks audience
Sheltered under a large white marquee and surrounded by metal stands not particularly conducive to the concentration of the players, the court reserved for the women’s competition struggled to attract crowds, even if the Italian and Polish supporters provided the atmosphere during the matches of Jasmine Paolini (4th) or Iga Swiatek (2nd).
At the end of a long season, many American stars (Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula) or Czech (Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Muchova) were missing in Málaga, while the two countries together have 29 BJK Cup titles.
The 2024 edition of the two competitions “was a fantastic opportunity to see what the strengths would be but also the possible operational challenges” of two simultaneous final phases hosted on the same site, said David Haggerty.
In other words, it is not certain that the “Final 8” of the BJK Cup and the Davis Cup will take place in the same city in 2025.
Where the host cities also remain to be defined, the ITF having received “two, three good applications” for each competition, according to its president.
The choice of organizer will be based on “several factors,” said David Haggerty, “but the most important of them is to ensure that the competitions enjoy wide visibility. It’s not a question of money,” he insisted.
The only certainty: the format of the two tournaments will change from 2025.
Balance
On the men’s side, the group stage in September, where 16 teams competed in four different cities for tickets to the final phase, will be replaced by seven knockout matches, played in one of the two competing countries.
“We always wanted to find a balance between the tradition of the Davis Cup and the innovation embodied by the “Final 8”,” assured David Haggerty.
The final phase of the BJK Cup will also be aligned with the Davis Cup from 2025, bringing together eight teams instead of twelve.
Divided into groups of three nations, twenty-one countries will compete in April for seven tickets to the final phase, of which the host country will receive the eighth and final sesame.
Will these developments convince the stars of the circuit to defend the national colors in 2025, in an already busy calendar?
“No matter how many changes we make in the future, it all depends on the players and their desire to represent their country,” Feliciano Lopez, director of the Davis Cup finals, said on Sunday.
For ITF major events director Alex Hugues, “we were very lucky this year: Andy Murray retired at the Olympic Games and Rafael Nadal” in the Davis Cup, two national team events. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence. »
