By Tennis Now Staff | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, September 12, 2024
Stan Wawrinka has a message for the ITF and Gerard Pique.
Thanks for nothing.
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The man who pair with Roger Federer to help lead Switzerland to the 2014 Davis Cup championship shared this video of a near empty Manchester Arena for Switzerland's Davis Cup tie. Wawrinka captioned his social media post with a sarcastic: "Thank you @3gerardpique, @ITFTennis 🤬🤦🏻♂️! @DavisCup France vs Switzerland in Manchester lol."
The three-time Grand Slam champion was referring to the International Tennis Federation and Kosmos, led by Pique, who terminated their 25-year, $3 billion Davis Cup deal after five years last year.
The deal radically reconstructed the Davis Cup format largely forgoing the traditional home-and away Davis Cup ties.
The new format came under fire from several Davis Cup traditionalists, including Lleyton Hewitt, John McEnroe, Jim Courier and Wawrinka with some players charging the ITF has killed the spirit of Davis Cup and put the longest-running annual team competition in sport in a floundering state.
Photo credit: Pete Staples/USTA/US Open