By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 4, 2017
Davis Cup matches will remain best-of-five sets.
Photo credit: Davis Cup/ITF
Going the distance in Davis Cup will remain a best-of-five set challenge.
A proposal to shorten Davis Cup matches to best-of-three sets was narrowly rejected by a member nation vote at the International Tennis Federation’s annual general meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam today.
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The motion to shorten Davis Cup matches to best-of-three sets received 63.54 percent support from member nations, but the reform required a two thirds majority in the voting to pass.
“We respect the decision of the AGM but are disappointed that our member nations have not approved the full package of Davis Cup and Fed Cup reforms endorsed by the ITF Board,” ITF President David Haggerty said. “Change is needed to ensure the long-term future of these iconic and historic competitions, and we remain committed to working with our national associations and other stakeholders on finding ways to enhance Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.”
It was believed the motion to shorten matches would pass as part of an initiative to reduce player requirements during the international team competition and attract more top players to play Davis Cup.
The following three reforms were approved at the annual general meeting:
The finalists in both Davis Cup and Fed Cup will be guaranteed the choice of hosting their first-round tie in the following year.
Match court availability and practice court requirements will be lower to reduce hosting costs for national associations.
Davis Cup pre-tie commitments for players will be reduced to a single function combining the draw, post-draw press conferences and interviews, and an official lunch.
In what ITF President Haggerty called "a ground-breaking decision", the annual general meeting passed a resolution giving the ITF Board of Directors the authority to make changes to Davis Cup and Fed Cup regulations on a trial basis without needing to seek approval from the general membership.
Previously, changes to the Davis or Fed Cup regulations could be only be made annually at the ITF AGM, with a two-thirds majority needed.
“This is a ground-breaking decision," Haggerty said. "The resolution gives the board the latitude and flexibility of trialling changes to Davis Cup and Fed Cup without waiting for approval of the AGM. In a fast-changing world, we need to be agile and nimble to make decisions, and this resolution gives us that ability. We thank our members for their support in the ITF Board.”